Last Updated on December 27, 2023 by Ellen Christian
Have you considered creating an upcycled t shirt quilt? Find out what to do with old t shirts and how you can upcycle shirts into something useful.
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Upcycled T-Shirt Quilt
It can get a bit bulky to store all of the kids’ t-shirts and there isn’t really any way for me to easily display them so they are just sitting there in the blanket box. I really wanted to find a way to display them so I could enjoy the memories I had of them. I briefly (very) considered making them into something but honestly, I don’t have time. The last thing I wanted was to cut them up and then never end up actually completing the project. There’s just a time you need to call in the experts.
Did you know that in 1980, almost all of our t-shirts were made in the United States? Thousands of textile jobs have gone overseas and Project Repat is working on bring them back.
Repat stands for repatriate which means to return to the country of origin. Right now, 5% of the trash on Earth is used textiles. The average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing per year. That’s a scary figure.
What is Project Repat?
Project Repat works with you to upcycle your t-shirts into a variety of different sized quilts. A Project Repat quilt is carefully crafted by designers, cutters and sewers earning a fair wage right here in the United States.
The quilt backs are made with Polar Tec fleece made out of recycled plastic bottles. Each yard of fleece recycles 23 plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
I recently had the opportunity to have several of the kids’ t-shirts turned into an upcycled t-shirt quilt by Project Repat. I simply sent them the shirts and then they did their magic, turning them into a memory quilt that I can enjoy for many years.
The kids loved seeing their special shirts displayed this way. Check out this video for a look behind the scenes of the process they use.
This is such an amazing way to preserve your special memories. Project Repat offers the best price on the planet for this kind of product! I’m so glad I had the opportunity to order my own.
You may want to try one of these upcycled projects next.
Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
I think this is such a terrific idea and the T-shirt quilt looks so pretty. To send my old t-shirts and have a quilt made sounds like so much fun and saves from having all the T-shirts from landing in a landfill to pollute the environment.
That’s it exactly, Karen!
This the neatest idea I have seen in a long time! I love that all the work done on the quilts is done in the U.S.A.
Me too, Shelly. That’s rare these days!
That turned out really well! At first I was thinking, it looks really great, but I would have no idea how to make one. Then, I read that you sent them to a company, and I was so excited; I can do that too!
It’s just so much easier that way, Brenda!
I saw that cross country shirt and have several of my own that I still wear! I can’t bear to get rid of them or even recycle/upcycle them, so they may have to fall apart on me! I do have several others I can use for this idea though. Your quilt is so colorful!
Thanks, Deb. I really love the way it came out!
this is sooo cool! i saw something like this on rules of engagement. lol!
Thanks, Dawn! He certainly liked it!
This is such a great idea! My kids are such sports fans, it would be such a fun idea to accumulate all of their jerseys for a blanket!
It definitely would, Jamie!
I need to make one of these for my son’s shirts. I have one with my college shirts and absolutely love it 🙂
Oh that would be fun too, Danielle!
I would love to do something like this for my kids!
I really recommend it, Jacqui!
What a great idea. I need to do this for my kids as they outgrow some of their shirts. Right now I have them stored away taking up too much space!
It is a great way to preserve memories!
This is such a fantastic idea. My son just completed kinder and already has two ‘keepsake’ shirts that I was clueless what to do with. I would love to do an elem aged quilt for him in the future.
It’s amazing how quickly they accumulate!