Another T-shirt Yarn Scarf

After I made the last scarves from T-shirts, I came across this awesome-looking scarf made from t-shirt yarn and a crocheted cuff. I decided to give one a try, but since I don't crochet, I used a felted wool sweater. For the T-shirt yarn, I used three large t-shirts.

For the most part, I followed her directions, but my t-shirts didn't quite give me 12 strips that were 144 inches long. Mine were about 96 inches each, so I went with that. 

Since the felted wool sleeve's knit was very tight, I used a chop stick to push the edge through the bottom of the sleeve and out the other side, then I was able to pull them through until they hung evenly out each side. 

It isn't perfect, but I like it!

T-shirt Yarn Crafts

I found a beautiful necklace on Etsy, and it's made from T-shirt yarn.

Isn't that gorgeous? How have I never heard of  t-shirt yarn before? So I did a little investigation (aka a search on Google), and it turns out that it isn't all that hard to make.

Here is a handy tutorial on how to make t-shirt yarn (or t-rope, as the instructor calls it), and this video shows you how to use t-shirts to make a couple of different types of scarves. I happen to have a few old t-shirts that I was hoping to do something with, so I pulled them out and started experimenting.

My first attempt wasn't exactly what I'd hoped it would be: I started with the blue and it didn't seem full enough, so I added in a couple of pieces of white to each side. It still just looked like an old, shredded t-shirt to me, though.

 

I had much, much better luck with the loose t-rope strands, though. I thought they turned out awesome, and I wanted to dress them up a bit. I loved the look of the fabric rose on the one pictured for the scarf tutorial, so I found this online tutorial to make a pretty, fabric rose.


I think it turned out great! The rose really does dress it up, and I love the look that burning the petals' edges gives it.

I sewed the rose onto a fabric-covered elastic band to make it easy to attach to the scarf (or a hair band, or anything else!). I can just loop the elastic over the rose, then fold the outer petals down to cover it.

So, I still wanted a flouncy, ruflle scarf, so I hit up the local thrift store and found a couple of t-shirts for $1, brought them home, and got to work.

I'm still in shock at how quickly you can make a t-shirt scarf using the methods in the video above. I made two new ones in about 30 minutes, at a cost of $2, plus the cost of a little fabric glue.

These turned out much, much better! I found the secret to getting a pretty ruffle is to start wide then taper slowly as you go, ending with a narrow cut. That really did make all the difference!

Here are the two new ruffle scarves:

 I would never guess that they were made with t-shirts!

Now, back to that necklace...I'm pretty sure I'd never be able to make something that cute, so for now I'll just have to leave it in my Etsy favorites. Hopefully I'll be able to buy it (or one like it from her lovely shop) very soon!

Make a Neck Warmer for a Little Girl

Now that the weather is getting chillier, my 4-year-old daughter asked for a tube scarf of her own. I have a pretty decent stash of felted wool sweaters, so I let her pick out the colors she wanted and got to work.

Here is the finished product, modeled by the cutest cowl scarf-wearing girl this side of the Mississippi:

To make the felted wool, pick up a pretty 100% wool sweater at a thrift store or yard sale, then wash it, with regular detergent, in your washing machine using hot water. Dry it in the dryer until it's dry. It should shrink considerably, and that shrinkage will felt the wool and give you a nice, tight weave that won't fray. It's important that the sweater is 100% wool, and that it's washed in hot water, not warm. If the sweater isn't 100% wool, you won't get as much shrinkage and it won't felt properly.

I started with a purple sweater, and since this tube scarf is for a little girl, I simple cut one of the sleeves straight up from the armpit, then made another parallel cut a few inches below that.

Hang on to the lower sleeve, you'll need it later. At this point, I made my daughter try on the upper sleeve piece, just to make sure it would fit comfortably over her head.

For the lining, I picked out an old beige long-sleeved t-shirt that once belonged to my husband. The knit was nice and soft. I used the sweater scarf piece to cut a similarly-sized piece from the upper sleeve of the t-shirt.

Now, place the two pieces right sides together, matching up the seams.

Sew them together at the top using a mid-length straight stitch. Stretch the fabric as you sew to ensure the scarf will have enough stretch to fit over the wearer's head without breaking the thread.

Once that stitch is done, flip the scarf so that the wrong sides are together.

Now stitch together the bottom, using a zigzag stitch along the edge while stretching the fabric to create a lettuce/ruffle edge.

This is the finished plain tube scarf:

My daughter wanted something a bit snazzier, though, so we decided to add a ruffle flower to the front.

Using the lower sleeve, cut three circles - one large, one medium-sized, and one small.

Using the same stretch/zigzag edge stitch, sew the edge of each circle so that it has a ruffle. Stack the three with the large circle on the bottom and the small on top.

I then hand-stitched the three onto the front of the scarf, with a small button in the middle and top. 

And there you have it! It was quick to make and should be snuggly and warm for my daughter this winter!

If you wanted to make a larger one, you would use the same techniques, just make a larger tube out of the main sweater (and a t-shirt) rather than using the sleeves. 

The great thing about these tube scarves is that you can pull them up over your face when it's extremely cold, or use them as a large headband/ear cover. They're very versatile, and so easy to make!

You'll want to hang on to the rest of the sweater, too. It's big enough to make a felted wool purse, a hat, or several other projects that you might see here soon!

How to Jazz Up a Plain T-shirt

It's really easy to turn a plain t-shirt into something special. I love orange, and an over-sized orange T-shirt recently caught my eye in the Men's section of a local thrift shop. I picked it up for $1.99 and brought it home. It was bulky and had gray layered trim:

The trim was first to go. I cut the edges above the seams, leaving them raw with no more gray. I was interested in a more fitted and contoured look, so I turned the shirt inside out and used pins to fit the shirt to my hips, waist, and underarms. I removed the shirt and sewed new seams up each side, where I'd pinned. I tried on the shirt to make sure the fit was right, then trimmed the seams (down to 1/4" to 1/2" - to remove the bulk). If you don't want to try pinning the shirt while you're wearing it, use a T-shirt that you already have that fits well and has the same silhouette you're after - just turn your new shirt inside out, lay your existing shirt on top, and pin your new shirt to follow the seams of your old shirt.

I didn't want to leave the edges raw, but I also didn't want to go to the trouble of hemming all the edges. So, I decided to do a lettuce edge using a zigzag stitch along the edges. The trick is to set your machine to the widest zigzag, a short stitch, and then stretch the fabric as you sew. Sew this zigzag right on the edge. The more you stretch the fabric, the more ruffle you get along the edge. I personally like a contrasting thread for the lettuce edge, so I just used an off-white thread for my orange shirt.

Finally, I wanted something to do something to make the T-shirt prettier. I had some beautiful fabric that matched the orange shirt and also added a splash of vibrant colors. I sewed a few pieces together, forming a narrow tube scarf. You could also use an existing scarf, a ribbon, or any piece of narrow fabric. I started in the middle back of the shirt and cut two holes in the shirt, roughly an inch or so apart from each other, and a couple of inches down from the edge. I then cut pairs of similar holes every few inches, going around the neckline, each pair a couple of inches down from the edge. My motto is that I avoid measuring whenever possible, and most of the time it works out fine. I like to just use my fingers to do a rough measure to try to evenly space, but if you're more of a perfectionist, you could measure the neckline to ensure your cuts are evenly spaced.

Once I had my pairs of holes cut, I wove the scarf through the holes and gathered it gently to pull in the neckline. Since I'd cut the neckline away, this pulled it back up to avoid the Flashdance off-the-shoulder look (fine for many, just not for me). The T-shirt material shouldn't unravel or tear where it's cut, but if you have a particularly fragile piece of fabric and are worried about fraying, you could finish the cuts with Fray Check prior to adding the scarf.

The scarf can be tied in a knot, bow, or just left hanging, to change up the look a little. If your scarf is washable, it can be left as is for laundry. If not, just remove it prior to washing.

I really like the end result. Here are the pictures!