The Shadow Box Quilt is truly a showcase quilt that truly embraces the most special of memories in a handful of meaningful t-shirts or clothing items. All shirt squares have a lightweight stabilizer ironed on the back to them to hold their shape better during the sewing process, but still keeps the shirts soft and pliable. Each shirt front square is outlined with a thin frame of fabric sashing to give a framed appearance to each square. Then two additional "shadow" fabrics is attached to each square to create a shadow box effect. Then the entire quilt is outlined with a tri-color striped border to pull it all together. Finally, we back the quilt with 100% cotton print of your choice, machine quilted with a meandering stitch on our long-arm quilting machine and bound with a coordinating cotton binding.
Number of Shirts Needed
This all depends on how many shirts you have, how big you would like your quilt, and what you would like to use it for. Here is a guide to number of shirt "fronts" needed and final finished sizes.
- Wall Hanging/Small lap quilt - 3x3 =9 shirt fronts
- Throw Blanket - 3x4 = 12 shirt fronts
- Large throw blanket - 4x5 = 20 shirt fronts
- Twin bed comforter - 3x6 = 18 shirt fronts
- Full bed comforter - 4x6 - 24 shirt fronts
- Queen bed comforter - 5x5 = 25 shirt fronts
- King bed comforter - 5x6 = 30 shirts
Preparing Your Items
- Most items that are machine washable can be used in your quilt. These items should be washed and dried before bringing them to me or shipping them.
- Please do NOT cut your shirts as I have a special tool to cut them to the correct even sizes. If they are items that are damaged or need mended before making into a square, I can do that as well.
- Please make notes if you want more than just the fronts of your shirts used.
- If you have a specific layout request for your shirts please do share those when the shirts are brought to me otherwise I will layout the shirts with color placement as priority to make the quilt look most pleasing. Pictures of the layout will be sent to you for approval before the quilt is stitched together.
Quilt Production Timeline
Please allow at least 8-10 weeks to complete. If you plan quilts for graduation or Christmas gifts it is best to plan with me a few months before as the quantity of quilts increase and due to the care and time needed to make your quilts perfect it is best to plan far ahead.
Care Instructions
- Machine wash in warm or cold water with your regular detergent.
- Do not bleach.
- Tumble dry on low or medium heat. Do not use high heat with fleece backings.
- Make sure the lint trap in your dryer is empty BEFORE drying your quilt
For larger quilts it is recommended that you use front load washers or professionally cleaned at a laundry mat.
Payment
A $100 deposit will be required up front with your shirts which may be paid with cash, check or online payment here or sent via PayPal. The pricing listed in here is for a block style quilt with fleece. The remaining balance will be due upon picking up your quilt. Any additional charges from extra stitching, embroidery or heat transferred pictures added to the quilt but will be communicated before the construction of the quilt.
A Personal Note
We care for your items as if they were our own. Our workspace is pet free and smoke free. Our initial consultation is very important for us to understand the stories behind each shirt and memories. In particularly with memorial type quilts, we all have lost a loved ones and understand the sensitive nature of these items. Thank you for considering us to create this special keepsake for you.