Turning T-shirts Into Yarn.

One of the best things about working in the library is having creative co-workers . . . like Lindsey. When another co-worker cleans her office . . . resulting in a lot of T-shirts that are left in a 'who-wants-these-?' staff area  . . . Lindsey looked at them and saw . . . yarn. (I know, right?! Yarn?!! I looked at them and saw a pile of T-shirts that I wouldn't wear.)

When she showed me her 'yarn' I was of course . . .  'how did you do that?' Since she is nice . . . she showed me. I went home and copied her and made my own T-shirt yarn. Want to make some??

Start with . . . you guessed it, a T-shirt.

Lay it flat and smooth it out.
















Next cut it just below the armholes . . . 

Then cut off the hemmed edge at the bottom.


You now have a tube.

Next fold your 'tube' in half, but leave one edge about 1 1/2 inches longer than the other.


Now comes the fun part.

Cut from the bottom through the first fold . . . but don't cut all the way across. Leave the fold furthest away intact.











Repeat all the way across. I made my strips about an inch thick. (Maybe you noticed my lime-green-Only-You-Can-Prevent-Forest-Fires ruler. I had a grandiose vision of carefully measuring each strip. I threw that idea out the window and just eyeballed it once I started. I decided to be a free spirit.)

When you are finished, unfold it and separate all the loops.

Next cut diagonally to make one big strip.

(You would cut from where my thumb is to the notch created by the two top loops.)









You will end up with one big long strip of jersey fabric.

Give it a gentle tug and a little bit of magic will happen. The ends will roll in and it will turn into . . . 

. . . a pile of T-shirt yarn!!!!

I'm not sure what I will make with it. Maybe a cowl?

Go ahead, give it a try. You must have a lot of old T-shirts that you are probably never going to wear again. (And if you see Lindsey tell her thanks for sharing!)






Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.