#needleworkmonday :: Repurposing old t-shirts into a floor rug

Old tshirts, we have aplenty. There are nice ones that still hold memories and there are those not so nice ones (the ones that are usually free and made of cheap cotton that you don't like wearing) that you wouldn't mind turning them into something else useful.

Inspired by some of the many projects by creative needle artists here on the #NeedleWorkMonday community, I thought to give tshirt yarn a try, that is making it myself and crochet a floor rug with a tshirt that has grown old and not one of those I like wearing. Nicer t-shirts will be turned into something nicer :)



First, I searched online to find a video on how to make tshirt yarns. I have a rough idea but I just wanted to be sure. This video was pretty good because it teaches how to turn almost the whole t-shirt including the neckline and sleeves to a t-shirt yarn.

Most other videos would just show how to make a t-shirt yarn just by the torso piece of the t-shirt and ignoring the sleeves and neckline.

Next, I have my t-shirt candidate laid flat and I measured to about half an inch for each strip:


And I snipped, snipped away:


Here, a good pair of sharp scissors really makes a difference and loads of patience as you cut through the strips. You will either enjoy cutting the t-shirt or you will give up entirely. Mine was halfway through giving up because the scissors didn't want to cut through but I kept at it. By the end of it, my hand pretty much hurts :P

Oh and another thing.. it can get a little messy as you snip away too. There will be lots of "crumbs" from the t-shirt that will be on your table or floor, depending where you work your project. And the crumbs will keep appearing from the moment you snip, all the way until you crochet and probably after too until it "stabilizes".

Next, quite a fun part of rolling the yarn into a ball with your fingers. You just round and round and round and round and round your fingers and wrap until your fingers suffocate! But the video showed a better way of rolling the yarn into a ball without hurting your fingers :)



Afterwards, it was time to start the actual work of creation!


I wanted an oval floor rug and I followed a basic pattern of crocheting an oval such as this pattern:
https://forthefrills.com/crochet-oval-elbow-patch-tutorial/
I crocheted to the length that I wanted and started through the pattern all around the chain stitches.

I am still not done yet. I have 2 more t-shirts to repurpose to become a ball of yarn and here is the rug currently with yarn from 1 t-shirt:


I will keep going until I reach the size that I want but before that, I need to get a good pair of sharp scissors! :)

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Here's wishing everyone a good week ahead and Happy #NeedleWorkMonday!

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