Rag rug crocheted with t-shirt yarn

A few years ago I started making a braided rug with t-shirt yarn. At some point the rug began to curl - I couldn't get it to lay flat and discarded it. However, I held on to the balls of t-shirt yarn I made at the time, and with my new-found crochet skills they suddenly proved to be very useful!



I used up all the balls I had to make this rug. I had mainly dark colours, so asked hubby if he had an old white shirt I could cut up - and he did! (check out my tutorial on how to make continuous t-shirt yarn here)



With a 10mm hook the rug grew quickly, but it was pretty hard on my hands. However, I'm very happy with the result. I hope there will be a good spot for it in our next house, because we don't really have one at the moment!

Straightforward mitts and more

My husband asked if I could make some fingerless gloves for him, so last week I spent most of my free time on this pair, so he could wear them before winter ends here!



I used Scheepjes Stonewashed yarn (cotton/acrylic) that was gifted to me in the Netherlands, and a free Ravelry pattern by Mone Drager: Straightforward Mitts. The pattern is well written, easy to follow, and I love the effect of the twisted rib!



I've also done a bit of crochet, to keep up my newfound skills:



Spotlight had a yarn sale, so I stocked up on cotton in sea colours - I'm planning to make something like this baby blanket (might be a bit ambitious...)



I've also bought a large crochet hook and dug up my t-shirt yarn:



This could become a bathroom mat... I'm enjoying making it, and actually finding it very useful, because the thick yarn makes it easy to see how the stitches are formed.
To be continued!

T-shirt yarn project finished... at last!

Finally! The t-shirt yarn project I started back in July is finished!



I found the pattern for the cabled cushion cover on a Dutch blog and used yarn made from old white t-shirts to knit the first piece, on the left in the photo above (click here for my tutorial on how to make continuous t-shirt yarn). I had so much trouble finding more white t-shirts that in the end I just bought some white t-shirt fabric (single-knit jersey) and cut it up to make more yarn. Unfortunately this turned out to be much thicker, so I adjusted the pattern and made the second piece.



The second side looks to be much smaller than the first, but of course t-shirt yarn is very stretchy, so I had no problem sewing them together to make the cover:



Very happy with the result - and very happy that it is finished. Knitting with t-shirt yarn is hard work!

How to make continous t-shirt yarn - Tutorial

After my posting about knitting with t-shirt yarn last week, a few people asked me how I make yarn from t-shirts, so I thought I'd post a short tutorial. It's really simple!

First of all, obviously, get a t-shirt - one without side seams, so you will get yarn without seams. Old, well-washed shirts work best, so raid the closet or visit the thrift shop. Avoid shirts with large prints as the printed area usually does not curl up well (the print on the shirt in the photo below had almost disappeared and did not pose any problems). Also, make sure the shirts are made from single-knit jersey, as this fabric stretches easily and will curl when it is cut. Double-knit or interlock jersey will not curl, so will not yield the typical t-shirt yarn. (Ask me how I know)



Next, trim off the bottom hem and the top part of the shirt from armpit to armpit. To do this, I fold the shirt in half as shown in the photo below, leaving about 2'' (5 cm) uncovered:



... and, being a quilter, use my rotary cutter and ruler to cut off these parts. Of course you could also use a pair of fabric scissors.



Discard the bottom hem and the top part of the shirt. You now have a seamless tube of fabric with one side folded towards the other. Make sure you leave about 2'' (5 cm) uncovered. Cut the tube into strips that are 1-1.5'' (2.5 - 4 cm) wide, but stop cutting about 1'' (2.5 cm) before the end (where I have added the dotted line):



Now you need to unfold the tube and cut diagonally from one strip to the next to make continuous yarn. To do this, I find it easiest to hang the tube over one arm:



... and cut across as indicated in the photo below:



Cut the first strip to the edge of the tube to make the beginning of the yarn:



Let this strip drop and cut the next strip to the first one at the back, as shown below:



Continue like this until you have cut all strips





Now stretch the yarn to make it curl up:



... and roll it into a ball, ready to use for knitting, crochet or braiding. This medium-sized men's shirt yielded almost 20 yards (18m) of yarn!



Questions? I'm happy to help! Leave a comment (but don't forget to enter your email address so I can reply - it won't be visible to others) or shoot me an email at info@lindarobertus.com.

Knitting with t-shirt yarn

My knitting mania is still not over! While browsing knitting websites and blogs I came upon this pattern (in Dutch) for a cushion made with t-shirt yarn (also known as tarn). I realised I still have a basket full of t-shirt yarn after my braided rug project in 2013 (still not finished...) and began knitting with white tarn. When the first ball was knitted up, I dug through hubby's white shirts and cut up two old shirts. When those were gone I went to my local op shop (thrift shop) and found another one. Now that one is all used up as well, and I'm still only halfway!



I visited another three op shops, but none of them had any white shirts without side seams. It's winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, so op shops don't have many t-shirts on sale at the moment...
So I've put this project on hold for now and picked up my Josephine shawl in rainbow colours again:



What I love about knitting is that it's so portable - I can take it with me when my middle son has his acting class, and knit in the car while waiting for him. And at night I can knit and watch tv, or listen to an audiobook. Perfect!

Moved!

We have moved! The new house is lovely - large, full of light, and in a very quiet street, with our back gate leading to the Kedron Brook. I have done a lot of unpacking in the last week and most of the rooms are now free of boxes. I love our new bedroom!



Sadly my sewing room is not ready yet - it is waiting for a new bookcase (bought at Ikea yesterday) to be assembled. I hope to do that in the next few days...



In the meantime I have started a new crafty project that can be done at the kitchen table - a t-shirt shag rug. I've also dug up the jar quilt that I made back in 2007 - our first year in Australia. The boys still love it!

Braided rug made with t-shirt yarn

Pretending I did not have enough projects to keep me busy (the Lone Star Quilt, a quilt for Down Under Quilts) I decided last week to make some t-shirt yarn (you can read how to do that here) and then started braiding a rug (braiding along with Cathy, a year and a half later).



This is where I am now, after many hours of braiding, sewing, unpicking, sewing, braiding some more etc. The diameter is now 60 cm (23 1/2 in) and I plan for the rug to be at least 1 metre wide. I am blogging in more detail about this project on my Blue Jacaranda blog and adding frequent updates to the Blue Jacaranda Facebook page, so do go there if you would like to follow my progress!