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How to Make Yarn Out of a T-Shirt

February 20, 2015 by Sarah White

how to make tshirt yarnI noticed recently that a lot of people were viewing my T-shirt yarn bag pattern over at About, so this is an appropriate tutorial to post right about now.

Making T-shirt yarn is actually pretty easy (though time consuming, and it can be hard on the hands if you have repetitive motion problems, so don’t expect to cut down a whole stack of shirts at one sitting), and it’s a great way to reuse shirts that have been stained or outgrown. Or if you make T-shirt quilts with the top part, you can make yarn with the bottom part.

The only tricky part is understanding how to cut the shirt to make one continuous length of yarn out of the whole body of the shirt. This tutorial from Makery has lots of great, large, clear photos so you’ll be sure to get it right the first time. (I don’t do the tape step that she shows, but it’s a clever way to get your strips even.)

It also has a great discussion of seams in shirts and whether you want to make yarn with shirts that have them. I love a good seamless shirt for making yarn, but the point really is to use what you have, so unless you’re a thrift store junkie don’t run out and buy shirts just to cut them up. Though I also have to say making yarn this way is kind of addicting, so you may be stealing from your friends’ old shirt piles soon enough.

Have you ever made T-shirt yarn? What did you use it for?

[Photo via Makery.]

How To Make Yarn From A T-Shir-T-Shirt Yarn Tutorial – From small projects like coasters and trivets to larger ventures like rugs and baskets, the possibilities are endless with this eco-friendly and budget-friendly yarn. So, grab those T-shirts, and let’s make yarn that’s not only fun to craft with but also a fantastic way to reduce textile waste and contribute to a more sustainable world!

Recycling, Plarn in the bag! Plarn! In this exciting tutorial, I’ll show you how to make yarn out of old plastic bags, opening up a world of possibilities for creative and sustainable projects. 

 How to Make Yarn Out of Old Jeans – Do you have a stash of old jeans you’re reluctant to part with, but they’ve seen better days? It’s time to give those worn-out denim wonders a new lease on life! Join me on a creative and sustainable journey as we learn how to make yarn out of old jeans. In this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll explore the art of upcycling denim into fantastic yarn that’s perfect for all sorts of projects

 

Next Pattern:

  • An Eyelet T-Shirt to Knit for Spring
  • Knit a Sweater as Comfy as a T-Shirt
  • Stripes Sweeten this Mohair T-Shirt Knitting Pattern
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»

Comments

  1. Barbara says

    February 21, 2015 at 3:13 pm

    I get my shirts at outlet thrift stores. I have found two that have 25c days. Most of my projects are $10 or less (rugs) I also make potholders & bags. All of my family and some of my physicians have a rug!

Have you read?

Knit a Hat with a Flock of Chickens

It’s well known (among knitters, anyway) that knitters seem to love chickens as a motif and a subject of our knitting projects. The Emotional Support Chicken and all the other chicken knitting patterns are just the beginning of our devotion to farmyard friends. 

For example, there’s Farmer Dennis’ Chicken Hat. This free pattern from Stacy Black is a simple worsted weight beanie sized for adults and decorate with a couple of little rounds of colorwork fences and a flock of chickens strutting around the body of the hat. 

You don’t need a lot of any of the colors for the chickens, their facial features or the fences, so this is a great project for using little leftover bits from other projects. The main color for the body of the hat is less than a skein using the yarn suggested, so you might just have everything you need in your house to start stitching up this hat right away. 

The colorwork is presented as a chart, with a 16 stitch section that repeats around the body of the hat. All the color changes are shown on the chart but I think it would be easier to knit the whole chicken in the chicken color and add the eye, beak and other features using duplicate stitch when the knitting is done. That way you don’t have to carry those yarns around the whole hat for just a few stitches. 

As the name suggests, the original hat was given to a farmer who shared their eggs, but anyone who raises chickens or just has a thing for the fowl is sure to love this cute hat. It wouldn’t be too difficult for someone new to stranded knitting or reading charts to make, either, so if that’s you, give it a try. 

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Stacy Black]

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