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Learning to De-Bone a Shirt

I had seen a couple of old quilts that I just went goo-goo over. Of course they were Blue and White.
Faded and mostly stripes and plaids. I had been looking for fabric to meet those specs and it's not easy to find. There is a line called Farmhouse Blues that is gorgeous. But I have a couple of quilts in mind and I realize that with the price of fabric and not really finding what I have in mind, I have to come up with another plan. Then I thought shirts. I have been visiting Bonnie Hunter's blog for awhile now and she is always speaking of using shirts, so I thought why not. 
I started looking in Thrift Stores when I came across one and had time to look.
Until yesterday I had found only 15 I liked 

Then while in Tulsa I thought I would find a new Thrift Store.
I scored, found 10 new shirts for 28 dollars.
That's 2.80 a shirt.

And one shirt can give around a yard (give or take) of usable fabric.
I had seen the video that Bonnie has on her blog on how to take apart a shirt, which she calls De-Boning. So I gave it a try.
EASY-PEASY
Here is a link to that video


This is one I "De-Boned" and it's laying on my cutting table.
(26 x 40)  table


So one down and couple of dozens to go. When added up, I should have fabric that cost me around 3 dollars a yard. 


  Pretty Good.

This is one of the quilts I want to make using these shirts.
It's old and falling apart but I like the pattern.


I guess  I can call this one my NewFO for this month.
Even though I might only get as far as de-boning.
But thats a start

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Comments

  1. audreyApril 26, 2013 at 11:23 PM

    Great idea! There's just something about shirting fabrics that look old and classic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. NancyApril 27, 2013 at 12:56 AM

    I've been using shirts for about ten years. I love the price (sometimes a buck a shirt here in Ohio) and the fabric options. Be sure to pre-soak to get rid of body odors: hottest water plus 1 c. vinegar plus 1/2 c. salt for half an hour. I avoid using the underarm area! P.U. sometimes! lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Valerie the Pumpkin Patch QuilterApril 27, 2013 at 6:37 AM

    I did a post on this too a while back! Bonnie visited our guild last year and sent me on a shirt buying spree! LOL* I hit up Goodwill or Salvation Army when I can. If you spy carefully you can find some shirts that resemble reproduction fabrics, those are my favorite. Burnt orange and yellow plaids are also a huge hit with me. I try to get them for $1 or less when I can, but I don't always score as great as you did!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownApril 27, 2013 at 10:49 AM

    Great idea recycling!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rina MasonApril 27, 2013 at 2:30 PM

    Love using shirts. I just finished a queen size quilt using 5 shirts and it cost less than $10.00 for the whole top with fabric left over!

    ReplyDelete
  6. BarbaraMay 1, 2013 at 2:20 PM

    That's a good choice for those shirts. I'll look forward to seeing it in action.

    ReplyDelete

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