So here is my advice for all the things no one talks about with Memory Quilts: Looking back it was too soon for me to have taken on the project. I stood there for what felt like an eternity crying and crying before I could make the first cut. Cutting into them meant he wouldn’t wear them again…wouldn’t wear them for trips to get Frosty’s or to play cards or to call me and ask how my day went…it meant it he was gone. I didn’t know how hard it would be to cut into those shirts. I didn’t know I would find notes he had written in the pocket. I didn’t know I would find the ink stain on that pocket or the Dr. I didn’t know I would remember him wearing that shirt to Disneyland. I didn’t know when I opened that bag it would smell like my grandpa. Just before Christmas I pulled them out to make a quilt with them for my mom and my sister….but I didn’t know what no one tells you about memory quilts. When he passed away my grandma gave me a pile of his old shirts…and I knew just what to do with them. My grandpa passed away in the autumn a few years back. Memory Quilt hold power…beautiful and wonderful and magical and terrible power. What No One Tells You About Making Memory Quilts Here’s how I make all of my Coin Quilt Memory Quilts: Coin Quilts are easy to cut, easy to sew, and come together in a hurry…which is great when you are making them for other people who could really use them as soon as possible.From a dozen shirts I will be able to make at least 8 of the coin quilts that are shown in the photos of this post….which is fantastic because often more than one person would appreciate and love a memory quilt. It doesn’t take loads of clothing fabric! With the showcase stripe you don’t need mounds of clothes which means you can make multiple quilts from only a handful of shirts.It is a perfect showcase for those fabrics that your loved one wore and loved.This is by far my favorite option to use for making a quilt with adult shirts for two reasons: *Any Quilt Block with Open Center (Usually a Star….Ribbon Star, Ohio Star, Sawtooth Star, etc.) We have a tutorial HERE for a cute Ribbon Star block. Below you will find a simple Coin/Memory Quilt tutorial as well as why it is my favorite. *Coin Quilt: These are my favorite kind of quilt top for Memory Quilt.
FREE MEMORY QUILT PATTERNS HOW TO
*Rail Fence: THIS tutorial will show you how to make a Rail Fence block…and you can use that tutorial along with your clothing strips
FREE MEMORY QUILT PATTERNS FREE
*Simple 5” Patchwork: THIS free pattern is great for mixing 5″ squares of clothing with 5″ precut squares of white or other solids. *A Snippet in Time (favorite shirts of all family members of friends from that year, family picture shirts, baby clothes, etc.)Īnd just like there are a variety of reasons to make Memory Quilts there are a variety of items that are used to create them.īecause of the variety of reasons and textiles used to create Memory Quilts there are also countless methods and patterns used to create them. *T-shirt Collections (races, high school, work shirts, vacations, etc)
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*Commemoration of an Event (family reunions, plays, sports team, school year, etc.) However, commemorating the life of a loved one is only one of the reasons to create a Memory Quilt. (Often family members find it difficult to donate or discard clothing items.)
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This can not only offer comfort to those left behind but can solve the problem of what to do with the clothing of a loved one when they pass away. The most common reason is to commemorate a loved one who has passed away and is often constructed from the clothing of that loved one.
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They also carry myth.” -International Quilt Study Center & Museumįor centuries people all over the world have celebrated life events and significant milestones by creating meaningful textiles.įrom the signature quilts of the 1800’s to the T-shirt quilts of today Memory Quilts have been made for a variety of reasons.