I love and hate Pinterest. I think it’s brilliant for inspiring me to try new things. However, it’s sometimes a tool for self-shaming, tired moms into believing they’re not accomplishing as much as everyone else. Most of my pinning happens late at night with my tablet as a way to wind down. Only here lately, as my son hits two and a half, do I have a spare moment to give some of those pins a try. I took the time to try something that looked interesting and in the words of Red Baby, “Ta Da.” A T-shirt yarn crochet bathmat.
The motivation hit and I went through my closet and sorted through the large number of t-shirts (the main staple of my wardrobe) and culled the less frequented shirts and started slicing. There are many great tutorials for cutting t-shirt yarn. I liked the diagram and description from Kit’s Crafts.
I did have some t-shirt yarn trial and error. Some results I liked, some not so much.
1. The thin, well-loved, 100% cotton t-shirts were the best for the project. The strips curled in on themselves nicely and gave a smooth finish.
2. I had a couple with a bit of spandex…or something to help them hold their shape, and the edges of the yarn from those shirts ended up looking a bit tattered and left fuzzy things all over my clothing while working on the project.
3. The thicker cotton t-shirts changed the size of my stitches and threw off my shape of my bathmat.
You must also contend with the seams of the t-shirt which has me wondering about buying knit at the fabric store and getting more mileage out of my yarn before a seam; but, then it kinda negates the whole upcycle thing. It WAS satisfying to see well-loved shirts to continue on in our lives.
As seen on:
