Making T-shirt Yarn

Tutorial to make seamless (no knots) chunky yarn for knitting new cool things, using an unwanted t-shirt.

T-shirts that definitely won't be worn again (irreversibly damaged or stained) are best to use for this project, as it provides a crafty extension to t-shirt life (much better than destroying it forever by throwing in the bin). If the t-shirt has nothing wrong with it, probably keep it as a t-shirt. Someone else will definitely want it, even if you don't.

Time needed - 1 hour
Equipment - t-shirt, good scissors, straight edge/ruler, pen/pencil, flat surface

Step 1

Lay chosen t-shirt on a flat surface and if you want to knit it immediately also locate chunky knitting needles. I think these pictured are a size 10.

Step 2

Fold t-shirt in half  (sleeve to sleeve )

Step 3

Cut off the top of the t-shirt from underneath the sleeves, leaving a square. This is what you'll use.

 (save the sleeves and neckline surplus for another project)

Step 4

With a ruler/straight edge and pen/pencil, draw vertical lines 2cms apart.

Step 5

Cut into each of these lines, cutting from the fold up to the seams, BUT...

ONLY CUT THROUGH ONE SEAM, don't cut any strips actually off. By leaving one seam uncut it means all your strips stay connected.

Step 6

When finished cutting on all lines, fold it out. It should still all be connected by that one seam you didn't cut through.

Step 7

Fold open that one remaining seam. Arrange the strips neatly on both sides and lay flat. I used an ironing board to help with this part, so that strips on both sides can dangle over the edges of the board and keep out of the way.

Step 8

Cut DIAGONALLY from one side to the other.

(Apologies for the basic photoshopping)

Step 9

Unravel...

...and wrap into a ball and Ta-dah!! One ball of t-shirt yarn.

The size of t-shirt will alter how much yarn is produced. This large blue t-shirt produced 25m.

Step 10

T-shirt yarn knitting joy

Rekindle, Christchurch

On 

Lightbulb Baubles

Christmas is a perfect time to get reusing. There are so many opportunities to make decorations, cards, Christmas trees and gifts from old Christmas items or unwanted objects you would easily find around your home. As an example, I took four lightbulbs which no longer work, and used some leftover beads and ribbon to upcycle them into Christmassy baubles for the Christmas tree.

Step 1: Find unusable light bulbs in that drawer of things you have no use for, but keep hoping they may work one day.

Step 2: Gather an assortment of craft items to decorate your bauble. I used beads and a gold pen, but you could use whatever you like. Buttons, glitter, ribbons and sequins would be fun too!

Step 3: Draw quick sketches of your ideal baubles to play around with layout of materials and ideas. It will make the making process easier!

Step 4: Use a glue gun or superglue to attach decorations to the lightbulb as you like. Leave to dry.

Step 5: Hang on your Christmas tree and show all your friends!

If you fancy making your own baubles, you can enter the Lightbulbs direct competition! email a link to your blog post entry to competition@lightbulbs-direct.com and visit the website for all the terms and conditions of entry.

Yarn Bombing

I arrived in Manly, north of Sydney, and saw this wonderful example of yarn bombing on my first day in the town!

Patchwork Cushion

As a leaving present for a wonderful colleague, we collected squares of fabric from unwanted materials (which matched colours from Waste Watch branding) and I created a cushion which will now be loved and treasured.

Knit Wits

Pictures from the Knit Wits stall at Brixton Makers Market last Saturday. I am part of this great knitting group, for more info and pictures of the things we make visit the blog!

Antwerp - Pop Up Eco Shop

Red bag (front right) - Elvis and Kresse made from fire hose

Upcycling Chairs!

Old chair

Meeting room

The chairs in this meeting room are in desperate need of an update. We completed our first upcycled chair today and it looks awesome! One down - 7 to go! We are re-upholstering the chairs with pre-loved fabrics selected from our 4 themes, branded with 4 different colourways. 

Deconstructing, sanding and painting the frame.

Re-upholstering the seat and back panels with pre-loved materials.

Tools of the trade.

An upcycled 'Green Economy' colour themed chair.

 For more information about Waste Watch and the four themes please visit the website.

Upcycled Jewellery

           Making jewellery with a year 3 class at a primary school

The props used in high street shop window displays are changed frequently and often discarded after use. The beads, bangles, ribbons, pom poms, lace and other such decorations I used in this jewellery workshop had been saved from Monsoon/Accessorize by my friend who works there. The company invest in many props frequently to decorate their visually enticing window displays. After the season ends however, these decorations become 'waste' and are thrown away unless staff or the public save them from landfill. Fortunately my friend could not let these wonderful gems and beads to go waste and took around 5 huge bags of decorations home. I was lucky enough to be able to take a couple of bags from her to use for a jewellery making workshop at  a primary school. The children loved the beads, bangles and gems and when I told them the story of the materials, and that they had been saved from landfill it raised many questions regarding other waste from shops, other things that are unnecessarily thrown away. This is such a waste of materials that have plenty of life left in them and so much potential to support creative projects!

Made Not Manufactured

 

This was one of the posters towards the end of 2010 at the Origins craft fair in Spitalfields Market. It made me smile, and I love the label 'Made Not Manufactured'. Appreciation of materials, skills, quality and craftmanship are implied through the 'made'.