T-Shirt quilt: Finally complete! (picture heavy post)

Here's a secret: I actually finished my T-Shirt quilt over a month ago. I've even used it twice since then. Sorry, y'all.

Yes, that is a Harry Potter pillowcase in the background. 

This is a special post- this blanket has been something I've wanted to complete for several years! I kept getting side-tracked, starting it then stopping, then starting again but forgetting what I was going to do, then having to redo things and oof! It was a very time consuming project. Every single step of it. I don't want to dissuade anyone from undertaking their own t-shirt quilt, but I will say this was a heifer of a project to undertake.

Back of the quilt. The square in the middle was not a
smart move, sewing wise. 

Things I learned 
Or, how to avoid a disaster


1. I am not a quilter. Nope.

Front of the quilt! Yay!

2. I rush through planning projects sometimes. This is not one of those things you can rush through! I learned that the hard way, more than once. Yikes.
3. Have a plan that you know you can follow. And keep it nearby for handy reference. I really should have printed out a plan at the start.
4. I have more skills than I thought when it comes to sewing! I also have fewer skills than I thought, as I learned from a few different points where I actually thought "UH. What is this tutorial even asking me to do?!" Oops.
5. Even if there are flaws, it still looks impressive once it's finished. People do NOT notice the things I do, like the lack of straight stitching, the pen marks I can still spot on some of the shirt fronts, my terribly tied knots between the layers...people only see this massive quilt and the shirts which make it up!

Close up of the backing fabrics. Totally wrinkly. Sorry, guys. 

     Resources for the T-Shirt-Quilt-Project(-That-Lasted-Forever-Because-of-Poor-Planning):

This is resting on a full size bed (ha, get it, resting?).

~Here is the website I should have followed the whole time. I found it AFTER I had already (poorly) cut my shirts and attached fusible. Most Unfortunate for me, but fortunately for you, I can save you that anguish.
        Some Notes: 
        ~ If you are a first timer, absolutely go with the "blanket as the batting, sheet as a back" suggestion. And if you are not a first timer, definitely do NOT try to put a square in the middle of the back of your quilt, even if the fabric is beautiful and you only have a square of it. It is not worth the trouble it takes to try and sew in a square between two single pieces of fabric and also be precise. Nope.
         ~Where the tutorial tells you to iron, don't think "Awwww heck, this fabric seems fine. Plus I hate ironing, so I'll just skip that step." It will not turn out well for you.
         ~You do use a lot of thread, but JoAnn Fabrics typically has spools (decently sized) of "quilting thread" that are 99 cents. I found the quality to be fairly sturdy!
         ~TAKE YOUR TIME doing the "math" parts. As a good friend's dad says, "Measure twice, cut once," or as I have adapted it "Measure quickly then cut once, and then do an hour of extra work for each hasty cut because you forgot about x, y, or z, ya dumb dumb."
 
Here are a few other tutorials which are thorough:
~ Cheap Chic Home
~ Sew Caroline (Part 1, there are 2 parts total)
~ Almost Casual
~ The Dixie Chicken (Part 1, there are 3 parts total)



I used some extra interfacing I had laying around, and unfortunately, it wrinkled in the dryer after I washed the quilt. You can see in the picture to the left how it has wrinkled; basically the interfacing disconnected from the shirt and bunched up underneath. When it is hot out of the dryer, I can sort of stretch it back out, but it stays pretty wrinkled. I have a few shirt backs like this. I didn't know that interfacing adhesive could go bad, but I suppose it did!

For the edge, I folded it all over twice and sewed to keep it in place. Not fancy, but also not super difficult!

Video I used for the edge of the quilt (I did not do as much ironing/gluing, hence my non-straight lines)

More of the edge of the quilt

You can sort of see the tiny yellow blob there, left of center in the picture to the left. That's one of the ties on the quilt, to hold the front and back together in the middle spaces of the quilt, so that it doesn't "bubble" out. These took a painstakingly long time, because I did them at/near each corner seam. I am not patient enough nor advanced enough to sew a quilting design into the quilt, so I went with the ties as a more practical option. I think it looks great, actually, and they are small enough that the bad ones are relatively hidden anyway. Wink!


Ta-da! What do you think? Is this a project you'd undertake? Or do you have a project that you've been putting off because you know it will take a lot of time?

I seriously love this pattern. 

Cheap Bookshelf Rustic Makeover

     Last week I completed, with the help of a friend, a project I'd been wanting to take on for quite a while now! We own several of those cheap Wal-Mart bookcases (such as this best seller) and I have started feeling like I can't stand them. Yes, they function just fine, but I have two issues with them:
                   1. They don't look great! A bookshelf should have a certain aesthetic to it, and these                                 shelves have zero character.
                   2. The backs are flimsy, tear easily, and are not sturdy.

     So I did some research. Which really means I browsed Pinterest for way longer than I should have, Googled terms such as "cheap bookcase upcycle," and spent days taking stock of available supplies in order to take on this project. My inspiration came mostly from these two photos:

Source

Source

    


The supplies I had on hand:
- paper and fabric, to mod-podge on the back or shelves to give it a colorful lift
- a friend who was looking to get rid of some wood
- both stain and white paint, both of which match other furniture in our apartment (blanket ladder, pantry shelf, dining table)
- tools to get the job done





With this list fairly narrow, I decided to go for giving just the backs of the bookcases a facelift. I can always go back and add paper or paint, stencil, or sticker the bookshelves or backs later on!

Here's the products, process, and final photos!

Photos (on left)

In the afternoon sunlight...

Products

- 3 "cheap-o" bookshelves (two white, and taller, one brown and shorter/more square)
- various sized 1-inch thick boards, leftover from other projects
- hammer and nails (you could use screws for a more secure finish)
- circular saw and power sander (and sandpaper)
- Stain (personally I am in love with "Early American" by Minwax)

Process

*I began with all the bookcases in disassembled and in pieces. Before step 4, I assembled the bookcases without the cheap cardboard back.

1. Measure and cut the leftover wood to the length needed for the back of each bookcase. Specifically, I laid out the boards until they fit the width of the cheap cardboard back, and then laid the cheap cardboard back on top of the boards to measure length. If I did this again, I'd add about 1/2 inch to the end, to ensure sufficient space to nail them to the back of the bookcases later on.

2. Sand the boards to desired softness. I did not sand them much at all, I simply softened the ends and nicks, and went over each of the faces once with the power sander.

3. Stain the boards. I stained them and let it dry; you could stain and wipe them for a different color, or paint them if you wanted! Options!

*assemble bookcases if they are not already assembled
4. When the boards have dried, place your bookcase front-side down on your work surface. Place the boards on the back of the bookcase and line them up where you want them to be secured.

5. I nailed my boards on the bookcase. I started on the top, lining the boards up for an even look, and nailed the tops of the boards. Then, my friend and I nailed the bottoms of the boards. Some of them were warped and didn't quite lay flat, and there were some small gaps between the boards, lengthwise, but we accepted it as "character." You could also drill holes and screw them in if you wanted a more secure fit!

I might add some paper or fabric to these shelves for a pop of color later on..

Finished products! I'll post some "glamour shots" later on, when I've got them set up and functional!