Memorial Quilt FAQ

Memorial quilts have been my top requested product this year, and so I feel compelled to educate people on what a memorial quilt is and why they are important. When I first started quilting, I didn’t even know what a memorial quilt was. I had no idea that there was a need for them, but now that I do, I can’t ignore it.

Here are a list of commonly asked questions about Memorial Quilts as well as my process of making them. Plus, pictures of a few memorial quilts that I’ve made for clients and a video!

• What is a memorial quilt?

  A memorial quilt is a quilt made from the clothes of a loved one to commemorate them and preserve their memory. The dominant or majority of the fabric used for the quilt is from clothes, and the colors and design can also be used to reflect the personality and interests of the person being honored.

• How do you make a memorial quilt?

  Basically, the way you make a memorial quilt is very similar to the way that you make any quilt. My process, however, involves cutting the clothing into usable pieces and then fusing them onto interfacing for stabilization and weight. This is a very important step that is crucial to memorial quilts.

  If you want to know more about my process, watch this short video I made breaking down the steps of Memorial Quilts.

• What kind of materials can you use for a memorial quilt?

  Any material that clothes are made out of… well, almost any. I typically can’t use materials like mesh, lace or very loose knits as these fabrics have holes that are too large. Having large holes in a quilt would cause problems if you ever wanted to wash your quilt.

  It is also really important to distribute weight in a quilt. Different threads and needles are used for different weight fabrics, and the strain on the stitches needs to be even. So heavy denim and silk scarves would be really difficult to incorporate into the same quilt.

• How many pieces of clothing go into one quilt?

  It depends on the size of the quilt and the design established. For example, a simple t-shirt quilt made at a twin size would require around 20 shirts. But a throw quilt made of small blocks would require only about 10 pieces. So it really depends on the size and design.

  What I tell my clients is to include everything that they want incorporated and specify if any pieces have more importance over others. That way, I can make sure to include and accentuate them in the quilt over other pieces. In addition, if a client only has a few pieces, we can incorporate other coordinating fabrics into the quilt.

• Why are they important?

  Memorial quilts are important because our clothes become our second skin over our lives. We bring them around with us everywhere we go and reveal our unique personalities through our fashion choices. When we lose a loved one, we are left with a personal archive of clothing far too personal to discard. By sewing the clothes into a memorial quilt, you preserve the memory of the person in a useful and sustaining artifact.