T-Shirt Yarn

I’ve been pretty vocal about my love for upcycling , and I really do have a thing for cardboard, but some time ago I saw a craft that involved cutting t-shirts into yarn and I haven’t really been the same since. 

The t-shirt yarn is super heavy duty, and since it comes from old t-shirts it is washable and generally is a color palette you already like (since they were shirts you or a loved one were wearing previously).

The process to make t-shirt yarn  is easy, although a little tedious. First you need the right kind of t-shirt, and I’m not sure why, but Mr. SuzerSpace’s donate pile always has the “good” ones, and my pile rarely does.

In particular, you need a t-shirt that doesn’t have side seams. 

Once you find a good one, fold it in half lengthwise and cut it straight across, right under the underarms. That top portion can be saved for other projects. I also cut right above the bottom hem because that doesn’t work for t-shirt yarn, either. 

You should now be left with a big sleeve of t-shirt material. It needs to be refolded so it isn’t quite at half – you want an inch or two off to one side.

With sharp scissors or a rotary cutter, cut inch or so slices so that it cuts past the first folded edge, but not completely into that extra edge. The more even these slices are the more uniform the yarn thickness will be, but as in many upcycle projects, exactness is not a priority. 

Once all the slices are done, you’ll want to reposition the shirt so that the uncut section is at the top. Beginning from the right, you’ll want to snip those so they connect diagonally with the strips you cut before. I’ve drawn dotted lines on my photo so you can see where I’m going to cut. 

If you’ve cut this correctly, you have one long strip of fabric in a messy pile.

At this point, you need to lightly stretch the fabric, which will make it curl in on itself and make the actual yarn. I finish by making the t-shirt yarn into balls. 

I store these t-shirt yarn balls in a bin until I have quite a few, and so far I’ve crocheted two rugs and a basket.

The rugs are just a big double crochet rectangles done on a very big hook, and I have paid zero attention to how the colors run together. It would be better if I’d actually count the stitches so the rugs would be more even on the sides, but I think the wonky rows make them even more charming.

My basket is a loose version of this pattern, and I keep it at the side of my bed to hold my morning work out clothes.

I’ve saved a couple of patterns for making market bags, and once Mr. SuzerSpace “donates” another pile of shirts, I’ll be ready to take those on. 

Pin this for when you want to make your own t-shirt yarn. 

This post will be linked up at some of these great link up parties.