How to Break Down a Shirt to Use in a Memory Quilt with Recycled Clothing...

Here is a quick tutorial on how to break down a shirt 

so it can be used in a memory quilt 

or a recycled clothing quilt.

 The point of this tutorial is to show you 

how to get the maximum amount of fabric out of each garment.

It's imperative that you get the most out of each and every piece of clothing you chose to use in a quilt. 

Here's how...

Start with a shirt!

This shirt is a medium so I can show you how much fabric you can get from ANY size. Of course an XXL would be best because it has a ton more fabric but even a size small can yield you surprising results if you cut it correctly.

First of all, cut off the sleeves at the armpit.

Then cut off the cuffs (which you can save for a project later if you wish) and cut off the seam that runs up the sleeve itself. Slice it off, don't worry about ripping seams or trying to pull the threads.

Then move on to the collar and the shoulder section.

Flip the collar up and cut around it, as shown in the pic. Also cut up the shoulders so that we can open up the shirt into separate pieces.

Then cut up the sides of the shirt, 
cutting the side seams completely off (watch out for the hidden spare buttons!).

Take a section, in this case I'm using the front flap with the buttons. Cut off the strip of buttons. It's much faster to just cut the strip off rather than removing each and every button. This way you can save the entire strip and use the buttons for a future project!

Now you can use your fabric for your project!

For this project I am making a strip quilt with strips approx. 12" long and 2" wide. The template (ruler) shown is 12" long so I plan to cut my strips about 1/2" longer on each side to account for shifting and discrepancies. I use my template to cut larger pieces of the shirt so that I may cut up the strips from those chunks.

You can see from this one front flap how many strips it yields. Save the scraps in a separate pile so that they can be reattached to each other later and make even more strips...

Then move on to another section. 

This is the flap with the button holes.

Figure out with your template the best way to cut the fabric so that it will yield the most for your project.

Make sure that you sew closed your pockets 

and sew down the button flap.

 You don't want any "moving parts" on your finished quilt. 

You will thank me later. :)

Move on to the sleeves, which have been opened. Figure out the best use of your piece with your template or ruler. 

Then cut up your strips!

Please note: The strip with the little button above I discarded because you never want to sew with buttons attached. 

You can take them off and re attach them later, if you desire. 

Here are my scraps that I will sew together and see if I can get any more strips out of them!

So from this entire shirt, I'm only left with this tiny pile of scraps...

Much of this can be saved for future projects too!

And here is my pile of strips for my quilt.

This size medium shirt yielded me 

60 13"X 2" 

strips!

Follow this process with just about any kind of shirt and you will be amazed how much fabric you can get.

A note before you go: Make sure you don't nick 
any buttons in this process. 
Your rotary cutter will be very upset with you if you hit buttons and also don't forget about the "extra buttons" hiding on the inside seam of most shirts.
 It's a real pain when you crack a button and nick your rotary blade... this is coming from experience, people!! :)

Thanks for reading!!