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Sunday 18 January 2015

We’re going to need a bigger boat

One of the things I was looking forward to when Mr Gertie retired last April was getting my hands on his work shirts.

It’s amazing how much fabric you can get from deconstructing them. 


I’d promised Mr Gertie I’d make him a blanket to keep in his new car – I’m a believer that every car should carry a blanket of some kind in case of emergency. To tide him over until I’ve finished knitting it I gave him the lap quilt I kept in my work room (to keep my legs and feet warm when I’m sewing).

Not wanting to have cold feet I decided to make another lap quilt using Mr Gertie’s work shirts. The pattern and fabric were duly chosen and I set about making it. It was only after I’d finished the first block did I realise it was going to be little bigger than I was expecting. I’d inadvertently chosen a king size quilt pattern. Opps!!!!!



I didn’t want the hassle of re-scaling the blocks so just continued making them as planned and would figure a way of making it smaller, be it making it into two quilts instead.

Instead of splitting it into two quilts (I had no need for two anyway) I simply didn’t bother with the 12 inch border that was supposed to go around it.


As my free motion quilting skills are still very much in their infancy (or in other words, I’m rubbish at it!!!!) I just quilted around the edges.

Mr Gertie would like me to point out that the blue floral fabric was NOT one of his work shirts....

Have a great week.

Gertie xx

PS why not pop over to Handmade Monday to see what other fellow craft bloggers have been up to.

14 comments:

  1. Very impressive upcycling! What a great way to use old shirts.

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    1. You'll be surprised what you can make out of a shirt. I also keep the buttons too....xx

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  2. Oh wow, what a lot of work must have gone into this, its a masterpiece! A great bit of upcycling too :) x

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  3. That quilt is fab! I too have a similar pile from my Uncle. So far I have made him a cushion out of his shirts with photo fabric pics of him and his family sewn into the design! The front button fastening makes great ready made fasteners for all sorts of other things too if cut off from top to bottom!

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  4. It looks great and a great bit of upcycling too.

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  5. What a wonderful quilt and a great way to recycle shirts. I have just started quilting some table mats and really appreciate the amount of work that goes into patchwork. I was pleased to see you had 'stitched in the ditch'. My free motion quilting skills still leave a lot to be desired too, but I blame it on my machine which is at least 35 years old and goes too fast!!

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  6. What a fabulous quilt! I have quite a hoard of old blue and white shirts which I intend to make into something amazing someday, you have inspired me.

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  7. This is a stunningly beautiful quilt you have made. I love the king size and the colors are lovely. It must have taken you hours and hours to complete.

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  8. What a beautiful memento of Mr Gertie's working life. I think there is something lovely about a quilt made from old shirts, as I bet the fabric is nice and soft. Quite a lot of shirts there. I keep wondering what he wears now in his leisure time??

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  9. Gorgeous. I love how the horizontal and vertical stripes look with the triangles. You're so good! I recently made bunting out of old shirts and it was amazingly effective. x

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  10. I love it:) Such patience on your part:) I love working with former shirts, so lovely and soft:)

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  11. Wow what a wonderful way to use up old shirts. Your quilt looks beautiful and very professional.
    Ali xx

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  12. Please come and continue to join in with Handmade Monday, I shall be hosting it on my site from this Sunday but everything else remains the same.

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  13. This is wonderful, love the blues, I'd bet that Mr Gertie would look good in a flowered shirt.
    I've cut the the front of a shirt (buttons and buttonholes) and used it for a cushion cover fastening :)
    Jan x

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