How to Make a Memory Quilt
Creative Ideas for Several Types of Memory Quilts!
Articles of clothing have long been used in quilts, with patches of fabric providing memories of people and occasions. Whether they were considered memory quilts or not, the creation of a quilt specifically for capturing memories is a lovely idea. Collections made up of Grandpa’s shirts, Dad’s ties, a child’s baby clothes, a teen’s favorite t-shirts and more can be made into wonderful memory quilts.
While we often think of memory quilts as comforting reminders of our loved ones, they also can commemorate phases of someone’s life. For example, a quilt made from baby clothes will be treasured for many years to come by both the parents and the child as he or she grows into adulthood.
There are many ways to make memory quilts and we’ve collected a few that we found most interesting. To start off, Suzy from Suzy Quilts talks about collecting clothing and preparing it to be made into a quilt. She also includes a free pattern to use with shirts (pictured above).
Jenny from Missouri Star Quilt Co. demonstrates in the following video how several types of memory quilts are made. Our favorite may be the runner made from ties (pictured at the top of this page). If you have a lot of ties to work with you can easily expand the project into a larger quilt.
Click here to watch the video at YouTube if it doesn’t play on your device.
In another article, The Sassy Quilter provides instructions for making a quilt from baby clothes. It’s interesting to read about her design process and to see how she was able to use some of the cutest parts of each garment.
An article by Lindsay Conner for Bluprint provides several creative ideas for memory quilts and other projects. We love that there are suggestions for projects that require just a piece or two of clothing, as well as for some that can accommodate several (like quilts).
One interesting idea is this quilt made from fair ribbons by Louise Coombes.
T-shirts make wonderful memory quilts. You’ll find several creative ideas and instructions here.
Laura from Sew Very Easy shows us how to make a memory pillow from a shirt here.
We hope you enjoy these creative ideas for memory quilts and other projects made from clothing. Look through the information for a project that’s just right for you.
