T-Yarn : Refash your old tshirts

T-shirt yarn, also known as T-Yarn is a crochet and knitting medium to make a yarn by upcycling old t-shirts past their wear. Making T-yarn is a really easy and fun project to try at home with the tshirts instead of throwing them out and It works great as a yarn because the cotton has been well worn and perfectly soft and still durable, and just slightly stretchy.

The yarn can be further used for a variety of home decor and other projects including bags, rugs, bathmats, and coasters.

 ( Photo Credits- Mollie Makes ) 

 

 Below are the steps to make the tshirt yarn -

1. Flatten your t-shirt on the floor and decide how big you want your strips to be. If you're using the yarn for crocheting instead of braiding you will probably want strips 1 inch wide or less. The strips will shrink by a little over half once we pull them to curl them.

2. Cut off the hem of the shirt for the finished yarn to curl nicely all over. 

3. Cut the shirt into strips of your decided width, stopping a few inches from the top of the shirt. Keep making strips until you reach the armpits of the shirt.

4. Start cutting from left to right. Grab the cut shirt and rotate it so that you can see the side seam. Start a few inches below the first slit above the seam, and cut diagonally up to the slit. 

5. Then look at the first slit under the seam. Cut from that slit to the next slit above the seam - you'll be cutting diagonally. 

6. Make a diagonal cut from every slit below the seam to the corresponding slit above the seam, always moving to the right. When you get to the end, you'll make a diagonal cut from the last slit below the seam to the edge of the shirt.

7. Working from one end of the strip to the other, curl the yarn, simply by pulling it through your hands. This is pretty quick and gives the strip a nice finished look. 

 

Projects from T-yarn

Sharing a list of projects & ideas, from home decor to accessories that can be made from the tshirt yarn that we loved from our fellow upcyclers. 

 

Rag Rug from A piece of Rainbow 

 

 

Belt from T-shirt Yarn

 

 

Crochet Storage tubs by Mollie Makes

 

Macrame plant hangers by Home Dzine

 

Pom Pom by Craftaholics Anonymous

 

Share your stories 

Have you tried any of the T-yarn projects? Share your experiences and ideas with us in the comment below or on social media using the #donttrashitrefashit.  

 

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