While many old T-shirts sit untouched in a drawer or box, Emily and Katherine Saucier take those commemorative garments and transform them into blankets for daily use.
The two sisters live in different states but work together to create the blankets. They opted to name their business Sew-Shay because it’s pronounced the same way as their last name.
“My favorite part is balancing the colors and making a masterpiece of someone else’s memories,” Emily said. “Each blanket is special and none are the same. Each shirt represents precious moments like sports jerseys, prom shirts or sorority events.”
Emily made her first blanket out of her high school T-shirts following her graduation in 2009. Throughout her college experience, she ran 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and marathons, and she said her racing shirts made for a great T-shirt blanket. After that, Emily began making blankets for her sisters, family and friends.
“Initially, I would only ask them to pay for materials until it became an idea to sew them for extra money while in college,” Emily said. “Everyone needs money in college.”
The business wasn’t official until mid-way through college, but it became busier over the past three years, Emily said.
About a year ago, Katherine, a pre-nursing major at the University, began helping her sister with Sew-Shay when Emily moved to Boulder, Colorado.
“I’ll basically recruit people and get the T-shirts from customers,” Katherine said. “I cut the T-shirts into squares, organize them and then mail them to my sister in Colorado.”
While Emily lives in Colorado, she spends most of her time traveling across the United States.
She travels 35 weeks out of the year to put on endurance sporting events. Emily organizes marathons, triathlons and obstacle runs across the country.
“This week I am in Washington, D.C., next week I’ll be in Dallas, then San Francisco, then Raleigh and then Orlando,” Emily said. “I live out of a suitcase, basically.”
Between working, being in school and traveling, Emily has 35 completed blankets under her belt. The blankets take between five to 10 hours to make, and some are dynamic and quite large. It’s during her two-week breaks from work that Emily stays busy with the blankets.
“My job is my dream come true,” Emily said. “It is my passion, my love and my life. It’s how I met my boyfriend of 3 years. We work together and travel the United States together. We call it ‘Another date, another state.’”
Katherine enjoys seeing the reactions of her customers. The owner of Red Lerilles Health and Racquet Club in Lafayette gave the sisters every shirt he had from each year since the business opened to make a blanket.
“His face was priceless,” Katherine said.
These shirts are treated how they would want someone else handling their belongings, Emily said.
“People express to me how special a shirt is and want it front and center because it was [from] their first kiss, first date, college graduation or first job,” Emily said. “These are milestones that I am cutting up and sewing back together to make something for them to treasure and snuggle with.”
Their business can be found on Instagram @sew.shay_tshirtblankets.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Ryan McCarble

A t-shirt blanket created by University pre-nursing freshman Katherine Saucier lays on the steps by the University's Memorial Tower on March 6, 2017.