Introduction: Recycled T-shirt Wreath
I have been experimenting with making yarn out of recycled t-shirts. You can follow the first two steps to make your own t-shirt yarn...the possibilities for what you can make with that are endless! And because my husband owns about a hundred t-shirts, my supply is endless too!
Here is how to make a Recyled T-shirt Christmas wreath...
You will need the following:
A red t-shirt with not too much writing ro printed design
A pair of scissors
A wire coat hanger
Some scraps of cardboard
Some silver and black scraps
Here is how to make a Recyled T-shirt Christmas wreath...
You will need the following:
A red t-shirt with not too much writing ro printed design
A pair of scissors
A wire coat hanger
Some scraps of cardboard
Some silver and black scraps
Step 1: Step One -Making T-shirt Yarn
With a sharp pair of scissors, cut the t-shirt across under the armpit, and cut the hem off of the bottom.
If you were going to make an infinity scarf, or end up with loops, you can just cut the t-shirt into strips, but i thought it would be easier to start with a continuous piece to make this wreath. So, here is how you can make t-shirt yarn. This yarn is fantastic to knit, crochet, or weave with! My mind is racing with all of the things I could do here!
Back to the wreath... to make a continuous strip, leave the side seams attached, and cut the t-shirt into strips about an inch or an inch and a half wide, being careful to stop cutting about two inches from one of the side seams like in the second picture. Open the t-shirt up and slip something in the middle so you can see clearly, and won't cut through. I slipped in a piece of cardboard, which is the white square you see in the photos.
Now here it the tricky part, to make it one continuous piece, you are going to cut the strips diagonally, so they attach to the strip in the row above...look carefuly at the photos, this part is a little tough to explain. To cut the strips diagonally, start by making an end, by cutting apart one strip (like in the fifth picture.) Then, connect the rows diagonally by cutting parallel to your first line.
If you were going to make an infinity scarf, or end up with loops, you can just cut the t-shirt into strips, but i thought it would be easier to start with a continuous piece to make this wreath. So, here is how you can make t-shirt yarn. This yarn is fantastic to knit, crochet, or weave with! My mind is racing with all of the things I could do here!
Back to the wreath... to make a continuous strip, leave the side seams attached, and cut the t-shirt into strips about an inch or an inch and a half wide, being careful to stop cutting about two inches from one of the side seams like in the second picture. Open the t-shirt up and slip something in the middle so you can see clearly, and won't cut through. I slipped in a piece of cardboard, which is the white square you see in the photos.
Now here it the tricky part, to make it one continuous piece, you are going to cut the strips diagonally, so they attach to the strip in the row above...look carefuly at the photos, this part is a little tough to explain. To cut the strips diagonally, start by making an end, by cutting apart one strip (like in the fifth picture.) Then, connect the rows diagonally by cutting parallel to your first line.
Step 2: Step Two -Pulling the Yarn (this Step Is Fun!)
If you cut the strips correctly, you should have ended up with one really long strip of fabric, like in the first photo.
The cool part about working with this fabric is that when you pull it, the ends curl, which makes it look almost like a tube.
All you have to do is grab a section and pull it, it will curl and roll on its own. The kids love helping with this part!
Keep pulling until you have curles the entire length of the material.
The cool part about working with this fabric is that when you pull it, the ends curl, which makes it look almost like a tube.
All you have to do is grab a section and pull it, it will curl and roll on its own. The kids love helping with this part!
Keep pulling until you have curles the entire length of the material.
Step 3: Step Three - Cutting It Into Strips
I folded a piece of cardboard so it was about 5 inches wide, then wrapped the "yarn" around it, and snipped it off with a pair of scissors.
Step 4: Step 4 - Tie It On!
So now that you have a whole bunch of short pieces, take your coat hanger and bend it so that it is a circle. Tie the scraps on, one at a time, using a single knot. Keep going until the entire coat hanger is finished. Believe it or not, it only took one t-shirt!
Step 5: Step 5 - Decorate!
You could decorate this in any number of ways. I decided to go with a santa theme.. So I used some black masking tape and silver paper to make a belt to go across the center, and a bent some paper clips to make a couple little springs to hold the Ho Ho Ho's.
That's it!
That's it!