I think most runners have a stash of old race t-shirts stored away in a closet, just gathering dust. Unless the shirt is a real keeper, I typically donate most of mine to friends or local charities within a few days or week of the race. However, over the years I’ve set some aside with the intention one day of having them made into a custom t-shirt quilt or blanket. Every couple of months I find myself searching the internet for “custom quilt makers”, but soon give up after navigating to the “How much does it cost?” page.
When Nathan at Project Repat approached me about a month ago asking if I’d like to try out the process for my blog, naturally I jumped at the chance. I checked out their website, read several of the customer reviews and set to work choosing 30 of my favorite shirts.
Each quilt/blanket from Project Repat is cut and sewn in the USA, with Repat customers having recycled over a million t-shirts since 2012 by preserving their t-shirt memories. Their Jobs with Dignity philosophy is quite refreshing in this day and age.
The ordering process is pretty straightforward. Blankets are available in 5 sizes – Lap, Twin, Full, Queen, King. Project Repat agreed to make me a Full which is made up of 30 @ 12″x12″ t-shirt squares.
1. Simply choose the blanket size, color of PolarTec fleece backing for your blanket (Navy Blue, Gray. Magenta, Black, Red, Light Blue) and the size of each t-shirt square (8″x8″, 12″x12″, 14″x14″).
2. Add the item to your cart and place an order.
3. Print out the email confirmation, fill out the form, and mail it in with your shirts to the address listed in the email.
You don’t need to mail in the complete t-shirts. In fact, Project Repat encourage you to cut off the sides of shirts and just include either the front, back or both pieces of the t-shirt, depending on what you’d like included in your blanket. The following video explains the cutting process in more detail:
Once cut, I stuffed all my t-shirt sides and paperwork into a flat rate USPS box, and mailed it off to Project Repat. 2 days later I received a confirmation email that the shirts had been received, with the actual blanket arriving just 7 days later. Project Repat quote a typical turnaround time of 2-3 weeks, so to receive it after just a week was a nice surprise.
The blanket quality is excellent and I must say I’m really happy with the finished project!
Prices start at just
Update: The Project Repat discount is now 15% (updated November 7th, 2016). Click here to get started on your order!
Let me know if you have any questions, and with the cooler temperatures rapidly approaching, feel free to pass this along to your friends and family. I’m sure the blankets would make an ideal Holiday gift too!
Disclaimer: The custom t-shirt quilt featured in this review was provided free of charge (excluding initial postage fees) by Project Repat. Thanks for your generosity!