Instant download on Craftsy! Click image to go to my pattern store.

The Loving Arms Wrap Quilt is my first published Creating Keepsakes from Clothing pattern. I’ve used this design on several quilts and love the way it shows off each fabric.

While using just one block size makes cutting easy, keeping the squares organized and getting them stitched in the correct order can be confusing. But I’ve made that easy, too!

With the included to-scale layout grid, you can not only see at a glance which squares go where, you can also create the most pleasing layout by testing out the placement of your fabrics before you sew a single seam.

The Loving Arms Wrap Quilt pattern is available for instant download through my pattern store at Craftsy.com but I can also email it to you, if you prefer.

I’m always happy to answer questions and give whatever assistance I can. With nearly 50 years of sewing experience and over a decade as a serious quilter, I have a wealth of knowledge to share. But I’ve also realized that there is a need for patterns specifically for creating keepsakes from clothing.

To fill that need, I’m developing a pattern series based on the designs and methods I use with the directions written so that someone with just basic sewing skills can successfully create a memorial quilt. Each pattern will include detailed instructions as well as my special technique and design tips and notes. In addition, I’m only an email away if you run into trouble!

All my patterns will be available for instant download through my pattern store on Craftsy.com but I can also email them to you, if you prefer – just send me a message through the contact form.

Check out the Make Your Own Memorial Quilt page to see all my currently available patterns. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Here’s the front of the quilt:

Memorial quilt with t-shirts, sweatshirts and other clothing.

As you can see, a thin strip of black fabric separates each section and is how the sections are joined together. And I think it gives a nice frame to each section, as well.

And here’s the back of the quilt:

A strip of the backing fabric covers each join on the back. Within the sections, I stitched the second edge of the fabric strip down by hand but opted to sew it down by machine where the larger sections join.

This is just a glimpse of how using the quilt-as-you-go method works when dealing with fabrics of various weights/thicknesses. Soon I’ll post a how-to with specifics on how you can use this method to make a quilt yourself.

For Daddy’s Girls

This trio of lap quilts will comfort the daughters of a much-loved dad who was mad about plaid. Edge-to-edge machine quilting over a layer of fleece ensures that the quilts are cozy and will withstand daily use and frequent laundering. While these quilts are all the same design, fabric selection and placement makes each unique.

• The quilt on the left speaks of sunny days and happy times. Mostly blues and yellows with green for accent, this quilt is backed and bound with a golden tone-on-tone cotton.
• The center quilt includes two pair of Dockers mixed in with the plaid shirts and is backed in red/black tone-on-tone cotton with black binding.
• The patriotic quilt on the right includes just a touch of green and is backed with light neutral cotton and bound in red.

Each quilt measures 60×72 inches, a generous lap size that also works well to add warmth and comfort to a double, queen or even king size bed.

Add an easy care label to your memorial quilt.

Memorial quilts are made from clothing and most clothing items have care labels. On shirts, for instance, the label is usually attached at the back of the neck or sewn into the seam toward the bottom of one side.

You can easily add a care label to your memorial quilt by selecting the label from the garment within the quilt that requires the most delicate care.

Rather than just cutting the label from the garment, remove the thread that attaches the label so that you have plenty of extra fabric above the laundering instructions.

Stitch across care label under quilt binding.

Bind across care label.

Binding finishes the edges of a quilt.

Quilt binding is the fabric folded over the sides of your quilt and sewn to both the front and back to cover the raw edges and create a nice finish. You can buy quilt binding or make your own. I suggest you make the binding for your memorial quilt from the backing, sashing or border fabric. Or you can use any fabric that complements both the back and front of your quilt.  

I’m providing instructions here for a simple quilt binding so that even a beginner can bind their memorial quilt. Please note that this is NOT the method I use on the memorial quilts that I create. Instead, I make continuous binding and sew it to the quilt with mitered corners and a seam rather than an overlap where the ends meet for a smooth, professional finish.

Simple Quilt Binding Instructions

1. Cut your binding fabric into strips 2½ inches wide. You will need two strips that are the same length as the sides of your quilt and two strips that are two inches longer than the top and bottom of your quilt. Sew fabric strips together to get the needed lengths, if necessary.
2. Matching the raw edges of the fabric, fold each of your four strips in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press.
3. Matching the raw edges and the ends, sew a binding strip to the front of your quilt on each side, using a ¼-inch seam.
4. Fold each of these two binding strips over the edge to the back of the quilt and press. Sew the folded edge of the binding to the back of the quilt, preferably by hand using a blind stitch.  
5. Matching the raw edges and extending beyond each end by one inch, sew a binding strip to the front of your quilt on both the top and the bottom, using a ¼-inch seam.
6. Fold the binding strips to the back of the quilt and press. Tuck in the excess binding at each end so that it wraps around the sides of the quilt and vanishes behind the binding on the back. Sew the folded edge of the binding to the back of the quilt, preferably by hand using a blind stitch.

Examples of Various Bindings

Quilt binding matches border.

Quilt binding matches sashing.

Quilt binding matches backing.

Quilt binding complements both front and back.

Quilt gently blowing in the wind.

A lap quilt made from ten cotton shirts, Love Remains the Same measures 56 x 70 inches. Edge-to-edge quilting secures the layers for stability and sturdiness. Fleece replaces batting for lightweight warmth. Easy-care machine wash and dry, this quilt can be used daily without worry.

Edge-to-edge quilting secures the layers.

Custom label on back of quilt.

Loving Arms Wrap Quilt pattern - An instant-download PDF pattern for this quilt design now available! Just click the link to go to the purchase page on Craftsy.com. If you want the pattern but don’t want to get it through Craftsy, or if you’d just prefer that I email it to you personally, please let me know.

A Gift from Doug

This beautiful quilt can adorn a bed or grace a wall. A true keepsake, the entire quilt top was created with Doug’s clothing. The central blocks feature favorite outfits, business and casual. The double border includes over two dozen button-down and polo shirts. The sashing and binding are each fashioned from a pair of slacks.

Doug had a rich sense of humor as evidenced by his tie collection featured on this throw pillow. What you may not be able to see due to picture size and angle are the novelty prints - Scotty dogs, snowmen, sheep and whales. Two dress shirts were used to create the ruffle and pillow back.

Pillow front made from silk ties.

Pillow back features a button closure and pocket.

 A hanging sleeve can be any size you like as long as it fits over a rod stout enough to support the weight of the quilt. If your memorial quilt is lap size or larger, or if you think there’s any possibility it might ever be entered into a show, add a 4-inch wide hanging sleeve just to be safe. Use the same fabric as your quilt backing for a nearly invisible sleeve, and follow my instructions to create a professional-quality hanging sleeve with a little fullness to ensure that your quilt hangs straight.

Hanging Sleeve How-to

1) Measure the top edge of your quilt from side to side.

2) Cut a strip of fabric 10 inches wide and the same length as the top edge of your quilt.

3) Measure in 1 inch from each end on one long edge of the sleeve strip and mark a dot. Draw a line from the dot to the corner. Cut on the line to create a slight angle on each end. 

4) Fold over 1¼ inches of fabric on each end of the strip and press. Then fold the raw edge in to meet the crease and press again. Stitch close to the inner fold.

 

5) Fold the strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Then sew the full length of the sleeve ¼ inch away from the fold.

 

6) Lay the strip out flat and trim ½ inch off the shorter side. Rotary cutting tools make this easy but you can draw a line using a ruler and pencil and then cut with scissors, if necessary. Also, trim off the excess fabric at each end on the long side of your sleeve.

 

7) Align the raw edges of the sleeve with the top of the quilt, and sew it to your quilt when you attach the binding to the front. Make sure that the wider side is facing out and the narrower side is against the quilt.

8) After you hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt, pin the bottom edge of the sleeve in place, and blind stitch it securely to the quilt.

 Need clarification or have additional tips? Please leave your questions or comments here.

Design your quilt on graph paper.

Creating a to-scale drawing of your quilt allows you to see ahead of time how the finished quilt will look. You can use colored pencils or crayons to add color to your mock-up, but pieces cut from the actual fabrics are so much better!

Before you decide this is just too much work, consider that color, texture and pattern placement can be tricky. What seems to work perfectly as individual parts may be absolutely horrible when seen as a whole.

Taking the time to plan your quilt on paper allows you to play with fabric placement to see how each works with all the others. Also, you get the distance perspective without having to step back.

Trust me – you need to do this! (Seriously – you don’t want to learn this lesson by personal experience.)

Create a Scale Drawing

I always start with graph paper, a pencil and a ruler but you could create your quilt diagram on the computer and print it out if you have the software and know how to do so. (Which I do but I still prefer to draw mine the old fashioned way.)

Make your scale drawing as large as the paper will allow. I recently discovered quilt designer’s graph paper that is 12 by12 inches, but regular 8½ by 11 inch graph paper works, too. Choose a scale that works easily with your quilt. As my quilt design is all in multiples of 3, I went with 1 square=1½ inches. Please note that had I used regular graph paper, I would have had to change the scale as my design took the full 12-inch width.

Add the Primary Elements

There are usually set elements in a quilt design, so add these to your diagram first. I used a colored pencil for the sashing and then added fabric pieces cut to scale for my six focus blocks. In this particular quilt, the focus block placement was already determined so I just put the fabrics where they belonged. If placement is flexible for your primary quilt pieces, play around with the fabrics. Use double-stick tape to hold each piece in place. And if you need to move one, just peel it gently from the paper and re-stick it elsewhere.

Time to Play!

Cut fabric pieces to scale for the remaining blocks. My quilt’s double border required 50 pieces and I had 28 fabrics from which to choose. So I cut 2 to-scale rectangles from each fabric. I noted the fabric priority (either 1 or 2) on the back of each piece and added an arrow to show the correct orientation for plaids and stripes.

Now the fun begins! Stick a piece of double-stick tape in the center of each open spot and start arranging your fabrics. Move the fabrics around, adding new tape if the stickiness wears off. Rearrange until you are satisfied. Then walk away for a day or two so you can look at your quilt design with fresh eyes. Once you’re totally satisfied with the fabric placement, begin making your quilt.

Some Final Thoughts

Getting the memorial quilt design just right may take several tries – that’s why you’re doing it on paper first. Then you can use your mockup to easily create the quilt you envisioned.

Remember to take as much time as you need to perfect your design. My final quilt, for instance, underwent several more changes after the photo at right was taken. Over the course of a couple of days, I repositioned fabrics repeatedly to get a better balance between the plaids, stripes and colors. And I’m glad I did – not only was it fun, but the finished quilt is awesome!