https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/t-shirt-yarn-tutorial • Posted by KBS
I have piles upon piles of old Tshirts laying around in drawers and bags around the house. Normally I would donate outgrown clothes and such to the local Goodwill, however I have a tendency to wear my Tshirts to bits. Shirts with holes, shirts with stains and some so worn out I wouldn't even wear them to the gym. This issue plus the fact that I really, really, really want to make a crochet throw rug led me to make this tutorial. All of my Tshirts are 100% cotton yarn which will make a soft, washable yarn and therefore a soft, washable rug, very important when you have little feet and clumsy fingers around the house.
I have piles upon piles of old Tshirts laying around in drawers and bags around the house. Normally I would donate outgrown clothes and such to the local Goodwill, however I have a tendency to wear my Tshirts to bits. Shirts with holes, shirts with stains and some so worn out I wouldn't even wear them to the gym. This issue plus the fact that I really, really, really want to make a crochet throw rug led me to make this tutorial. All of my Tshirts are 100% cotton yarn which will make a soft, washable yarn and therefore a soft, washable rug, very important when you have little feet and clumsy fingers around the house.
First you'll need to take your old shirt and lay it out flat. Any part of your shirt that has printing on it will be too stiff to stretch properly so we'll avoid those parts.
Cut the bottom hem off the shirt and make a straight cut across the body of the shirt underneath the arms. Discard the hem and top half of the shirt or save them for a future project. We're only going to need the center rectangular tube for this project.
Fold the bottom of the rectangle up to the top, leaving about an inch gap. Making sure the cut edges are on the sides.
Fold the bottom edge up again, leaving the inch at the top.
Now you're going to cut the rectangle into strips. How wide you cut them will determine how thick your finished yarn will be, I like to cut them in about 1 inch sections which makes a nice bulky weight yarn. Cut through all layers from the bottom up leaving the gap at the top intact.
Once all your cuts are made, separate the layers of the tube exposing the uncut section.
Take your scissors and make a diagonal cut from the bottom of the first slit on top to the top of the second slit on the bottom. Continue making diagonal cuts across the rest of the tube to the end.
You'll need to go back to the first cut and make another diagonal cut to open the connected end.
You should now have one long continuous piece of fabric. Take a section of fabric and stretch it, it will roll in on itself. Continue stretching the rest of the fabric until the whole length is rolled and stretched into yarn.
Your yarn is ready to use! However, some projects will require multiple strands of yarn. You can always start a new length of yarn like you would with any knitting or crochet project or you could connect multiple lengths of yarn end to end.
To connect two lengths of yarn, unroll one end of each of the two pieces of yarn. Cut a hole in the center of each end. Feed one end through the hole in the other piece.
Pull the end of the connecting yarn through its own hole.
Pull snug and you're ready to go!! You can also simply knot the ends together or stitch them with some thread but I find this method makes a better looking finished product.