This is the question I get most often, and my answer has always been, “I recommend at least 12, but I’ll work with whatever you have in your collection.” You only have one shirt? I can work with that. Fifty? I can work with that too.
Quilts join pieces of fabric to make something new. Even the customer with a single t-shirt can have a t-shirt memory quilt made because finding the perfect fabric to fill in the “missing” space is what quilters do best.
Instead of asking, “how many t-shirts do I need to make a t-shirt quilt,” ask yourself, “what type of t-shirt quilt do I want to have made?”
Do you want a classic symmetrical quilt with square blocks and borders (classic style), or do you not care what it looks like as long as we incorporate all 50 shirts (collage style).
If you happen to visit my booth soon, I’ll likely follow up my 12-shirt recommendation answer with, “how many shirts are you wanting to incorporate?” And then show you the quilt options that fit with that amount. There’s no reason to leave a memory on the table when it means enough to be a part of your collection. Let’s find a way to put it into your memory quilt.
How many t-shirts do you need to make a t-shirt quilt? It’s probably the exact amount you have.