From EQ8 to T Shirt

Tech Know Quilters Masters Challenge - Design Your Own T Shirt

​Many of us have made quilts designed from old T Shirts.  Maybe like this design from my T Shirt and Panel Quilt class.

​But what if we reversed the concept -- and took a quilt we designed in EQ8 and transferred it to a T Shirt?

Or create a design in EQ8 specifically for a T Shirt? 

Wouldn't that be super fun to wear to your next guild meeting?

Or your next quilt show?

​Everyone will be asking where you got your shirt. 

Custom Set Quilt Design from T Shirt and Panel Quilt Class in Tech Know Quilters

In this blog post I will inspire you with ideas developed by Tech Know Quilters Masters members who designed their own T Shirt in EQ (or used a T Shirt from the EQ library).  And then created a design for the T Shirt.

I will also walk you through the process of preparing your Electric Quilt 8 design for printing -- and will walk you through how to use VistaPrint to print your own T Shirt.

Quilty T Shirts Tech Know Quilters Masters Challenge

For this challenge, Tech Know Quilter Masters members started by either drafting their own shirt or using a shirt from the EQ library. 

In week 2, they found a design to add to their T Shirt. 

And then (if desired) they added text to their quilt. 

​I am hoping some decide to create their own personal T Shirt from their design.

I personally would love to wear any of them.

Julie Pedersen

Fran Heisey Oh my! I learned so much last month. I used a lot of it for the challenge.

Kristy Goodin Soard I chose to carry on with my word of the year with this challenge.

Brigitte Lee Recycling my old motifs.

Rhonda Goss

Zdenka Nemethova Inspired by Carolyn Friedlander Shirts Quilt pattern, just adjusted a bit to have a space for the design.

Lynne Maramieri My shirt block for this month's challenge. I rounded the neckline and made crazy patch fabric for the appliqué heart.

Connie Bradley Bobcik I decided to make a sweatshirt, just to challenge myself a little further. I had to do some thinking on this one!

Did you know that if you have received twelve months of Tech Know Quilter classes, you are eligible for the TKQ Masters program? 

​Send me a note, if you are interested in learning more about joining Masters.

Tell Me More About Joining TKQ Masters

From EQ8 to T Shirt

I decided to challenge myself to participate in the TKQ Masters Challenge as well.

I've been wanting to create a Tech Know Quilters T Shirt. 

I ended up with two designs and couldn't decide which one I preferred.

Tech Know Quilters T Shirt Quilt Design - Option 1 by Kari Schell

Tech Know Quilters T Shirt Quilt Design - Option 2 by Kari Schell

Let me walk you through the highlights on creating my design in EQ8.

• Locate the T is for T-shirt block in the EQ8 Block library under ​03 Foundation Pieced >My ABC Quilt
• Add to Sketchbook
• Edit the block and delete the horizontal line at the bottom of the shirt.
• Recolor the block.

T is for T-shirt

Modified T Shirt Block

• Set up a New Quilt>Horizontal
• # of Blocks 1 x 1
• Size of Block 16 x 16
• Delete the border

Layout Tab for Quilt

• Place the modified T Shirt block on Layer 1

Design Tab - Layer 1

• Select Layer 2​
• Drag any blocks (they don't need to be applique motifs) on Layer 2  
• I designed my own blocks for my T Shirt, but you could pick blocks from the EQ library.
• Resize as desired.
• Note that I colored the black in the block with the same fabric as the fabric used to color the t shirt.

Design Tab - Layer 2 Adding Designed Block

• On Layer 2, use the Text tools to add the text
• Pick a font installed on your computer
• I used the 2Tech font from Dafont.com
• ​Rotate and position the text on the t shirt
• Add to sketchbook to save your quilt.

Design Tab - Text Tools

In my free video this week, I decided to share (as Paul Harvey would say) "the rest of the story".

While the design in EQ was great, I didn't want a quilt with the design -- but wanted an actual T Shirt.

I knew it would be fun to wear to retreats and quilt shows.

And I loved the fact that it is a one of a kind item.

The biggest challenge I needed to overcome was preparing a good design for printing.

And then finding a way to get it actually printed. 

Check out how I addressed both of these challenges.

You may have noticed in the video that I added a new piece of software to the mix. 

My original plan was to use a background remover app (such as remove.bg).  I use that app a lot, but the export was not large enough to create a crisp design.  ​

What is Inkscape?

Inkscape is a professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It's free and open source. 

Inkscape can seem overwhelming to use when you open it for the first time. However you only need to use a few tools within Inkscape to clean up your T Shirt design exported from EQ -- so this really is a piece of cake.

​You can download Inkscape here.  In the video I used version 1.3.2.

Link to Inkscape Website

​When I was looking for a way to get my shirt printed, I saw that VistaPrint https://www.vistaprint.com  was an option. 

I've used them in the past for postcards and business cards and have been impressed with their quality. 

They allow for purchases of single shirts, so I thought I would give it a try.

In the process, I realized my image should be at a dpi of at least 300.  (That was when I realized remove.bg wasn't going to work.)

It was much simpler than I thought.

I have placed an order for a few items with my design.   There were a few other items that looked appealing as well.  

I'll report back once the order arrives. 

​Until then, here is a screenshot of the preview of the shirt.

Preview of Vista Print Designed T Shirt

Do you have a favorite quilting T Shirt?  I would love to see pictures.  I've set up a separate post in the Learning EQ Facebook group for you to share.

From EQ8 to T Shirt Learning EQ Facebook Post

Happy quilting.

​Kari

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