Crocheting with old T-Shirts?

[donnalynn2]

So I was going through some old Scrap magazines I got in a trade and it showed a pattern for a rug made out of old T-Shirts. It looks like you cut the T-Shirts in a strip and crochet with them. Has anyone ever done this before? Thinking about all the old T-Shirts with little holes or stains in them, this would be a great use for them. Just wondering if it's worth the trouble...

[Vik]

Hi Donna! I know what are you talking about, and I´m really interested too! Let´s see if other villagers have experience with it, and what they say about it. We could start a Cal, if you want!

[Mermaiden]

Sounds like it would resemble crocheting with old sheets, and plastic bags (both of which I have materials for but haven't done yet!) where you cut them up into strips first

[goofy]

I have seen similar patterns. I have shirts saved up and started cutting them but have never crocheted with them. I would be nice to see what people who have tried this think.

[Alosha]

I have crocheted a bathroom rug & a couple of cat mats from old t-shirts. Makes a soft & absorbent rug. It's easier to crochet with than cotton blend fabrics because it has some "give" like yarn.

:)Alosha

[pinkroses]

This is strange because I was thinking about that the other day and here it is:lol

I might try this. My gran use to make crocheted rugs out of old cotton shirts , dresses and anything she could get her hands on.

I tired it a couple of times. I might like the cotton shirt ideas.

Thanks for posting the question. It was odd that I was just thinking about doing this.pinkroses

[SeaShelly]

It sounds similar to the rag crochet that the women of Appalachia have been doing for eons...

here's a link to Annie's Attic about it:

Rag Crochet: A Vintage Technique

[Mom w/a Motif]

I have thought about this too, for years. Have never tried it yet, though. Do you sew the strips together or loop them? I am going to start saving all our old tshirts now. Oh no.

 

Tina

[Deb]

Oh NO! Now I'm gonna be up all night thinking about this!

[SeaShelly]

you can make some really interesting looking rag rugs like this.

[pinkroses]

I live in Roanoke , Va. and I know several people who did it including my grandmother and me.

It is ok ; but tedis cutting the strips and fixing them together. It is harder to on the hands. pinkroses

[nightowl]

I haven't done it myself but it's something I've wanted to try ever since I saw this glorious rug on CrochetMe. It looks so cushiony and the colours are so sumptuous. . . I just need to find enough shirts!

 

Smiles,

[Cocoa Cream]

I actually learned how to crochet doing rag rugs...my Gran taught me, and we used old dresses, blouses, etc....much like people used to do with quilts. We'd cut strips about 1 inch wide, sew them together, and fold the cut edges in as we crocheted. I still have the rugs I made (they are very durable) as well as the wooden crochet hook my Grandpa whittled for me!

I've never tried using old t-shirts, but that does sound like it would make a soft rug. I'll have to try that sometime!

[WendyLee]

I have crocheted using fabric and found it to be a pain. You have to cut all the strips, put them together in some manner and then crochet. It is very rough on the hands. Mine ached quite a bit after all of that crocheting. It was not t-shirts but cotton fabric. T-shirt material might be easier because if you are using old worn out ones they are much softer. You could always then dye it if you used all old white undershirts or have a great color blend with all of the available colors t-shirts come in.

[ChainOFools]

This sounds like a great technique! What a great idea to dye the strips, too! How do you join the strips together--or is it similar to the technique of the plastic bags?

 

My husband has a million t-shirts, most of which are well worn and have holes, and should have been thrown out long ago but he has a fit if I even mention such a horrid thing This way he could still have his shirts in 'some' form at least.

[WendyLee]

When I did the fabric I found sewing them together made an easier transition.

[yarncat]

I made an oval rug many years ago with Tshirts(2" wide strip) & sweatshirts(1" wide).It's still on the floor of our cabin!

[tamugrad02]

My fiance and I used to sell t-shirts on eBay. We have since stopped, but now we have about 50 t-shirts in our loving room collecting dust. So the other day I got this idea that I could cut them into strips and crochet them. I said the myself "Self, we should get on the 'ville and see if anyone else has had this idea." And low and behold......

 

So have we pretty much agreed the sewing the strips together is the easiest thing? What other ways are there? We should start a CAL with this......

[Beaglelady]

And all this time I've been throwing out DH old raggy t-shirts. and I could have been making rugs? Geezz..

[needlesandpinza]

not with T shirt but I do have cotton binding tape on the hooks...well its been on that hook for awhile lol

The othly trouble is the stretch factor, you really need to watch the tension

[Cuddlefish]

I've made several of these, and I only sew anything if the fabric is not great or I cut across the seams of the t-shirt, and the strips are splitting. I just change colours the same way I do with regular crocheted items.

 

Make sure not to cut over seams in the t-shirt when you cut it into strips, cut along the seams, so that they don't come apart after you're done. That'll save you lots of time!

[Shellybrook]

OH MAN!!!

 

My mom just threw out 2 sets of sheets last weekend. That would have been great to crochet!!! What could you make out of something like that?

[nucki]

OH MAN!!!

 

My mom just threw out 2 sets of sheets last weekend. That would have been great to crochet!!! What could you make out of something like that?

I would think it would be best for things you WANT to be thick and heavy... like throw rugs.

 

Or you could always make a rustic-looking bedspread with it. I would think it would be great for cold winters. (I could be wrong, but that's my thinking anyway.)

[sammimag]

I hope I'm not repeating any thing. I want to do this some day. My kids have lots of tie dyed t shirts they are going to out grow soon and I want to make some rugs with them.

 

My plan is to cut the strips in a spiral up the body of the shirt then there is no need to sew together small strips unless the side seams are really weak.