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Roundup: Using Old T-Shirts

27 February 2010 22,315 views 11 Comments

by heather

Old T-Shirt Wreath

Don't you just love the idea of using your old shirts to make pretty decor? Take color-coordinated shirts and transform them into a wreath. Use a grapevine wreath or wreath form, and old clothes, and you'll only spend a buck! Get the tutorial details at Scoutie Girl.

Make an Asymmetrical T-shirt Skirt

My friend Lee from Leethal is an amazing crafter with tons of great ideas, and she does a lot of great work with recycled materials. Check out her tutorial for an asymmetrical t-shirt skirt here.

Make an Unusual T-shirt Quilt

You've seen the standard all-squares t-shirt quilts (which are awesome, don't get me wrong), but this strip-quilted t-shirt quilt is a genuine masterpiece. If you're not into the other kind, this one is an amazing choice. Calls for about 20 t-shirts and tutorial is by Erika Kern at CraftStylish. Part One Here and Part Two Here.

Make a T-shirt Pillow

Use your favorite old t-shirt to make these cute throw pillows, and stashbust some fabric while you're at it. Tutorial at Maiden Jane (via TT).

Make a T-shirt Scarf

My friend Rachel made this cool scarf from her collection of t-shirts. Get the details at Craft.

No-Sew Ribbon Altered T-shirt

No sewing required in this cute tutorial from Living Locurto.

Make a T-shirt Shrug

Cute way to alter an old t-shirt into a new shrug! By Something Shiny

Make a Ruffly Scarf

Very cute ruffly scarf tutorial by Disney at Ruffles & Stuff

Make T-shirt Yarn (also known as Tarn)
find out how at the Polka Dot Pineapple Blog (another tutorial at My Recycled Bags)

Projects to make with your t-shirt yarn:

Wheelchair or Walker Tote Bag

Knitted Dishcloths

Unique Half-Circle Bathmat

Braided Scarf

T-shirt Necklace

More Resources:

Find a bunch more tutorials at the T-Shirt Surgery Livejournal Community

Check out this super-awesome stop-motion t-shirt animation at Dude Craft (you have to see it!)

A huge roundup of t-shirt surgery projects at Craft Jr.

11 Comments »

RecycleCindy said:

What a fantastic post about recycled t-shirt projects. Thank you for posting all these wonderful upcycled projects and I appreciate that you included a few of my free crochet patterns too. We all need to support green crafting and help others learn the joy of recycling crafting. It’s basically free and oh so eco-friendly.

# 27 February 2010 at 8:54 pm

Jane said:

Wow, there are some amazing ideas here! I love the t-shirt scarf. I make t-shirt quilts (and thanks for showing my pillow!) but I am completely inspired. Thanks!

# 27 February 2010 at 10:36 pm

Elizabeth said:

Great post! I really like the idea of using tee material as a base on wreaths.

# 28 February 2010 at 8:30 am

Amy @ Living Locurto said:

Thanks for including my new sew t-shirt here! What a bunch of great ideas. That wreath is too cute! Great craft to do with kids. I love finding new things to do with old shirts because I just can’t throw them away. ha!

# 28 February 2010 at 8:34 am

Sophia said:

Thanks for the links! Too bad I didn’t get the link to that half-circle bath mat before I made my own. It would have cut my time in half since I wouldn’t have had to figure out the pattern as I went … :)

# 28 February 2010 at 10:54 pm

Jennifer said:

I’d really like to make that ruffly scarf…but I can’t get the link to open. Am I doing something wrong?

# 1 March 2010 at 6:38 am

heather (author) said:

@Jennifer I fixed the link – thanks for catching that!

# 1 March 2010 at 10:00 am

Alicia said:

What a coincidence! My friend Erin just made a floor mat out of old t-shirts. She did a post about it on her site Yay! DIY. Here’s the link: http://yaydiy.com/2010/02/college-t-shirts-who-knew-they-would-come-in-handy/

P.S. I LOVE the scarf idea- gonna have to try that.

# 1 March 2010 at 2:42 pm

Abigail said:

A coincidence indeed – are we all making t-shirt rugs right now? I’m in the middle of braiding t-shirt strips together to make giant yarn for an outsized crochet doily rug. Won’t be on my blog til next week though (provided I finish it by next week!)

# 1 March 2010 at 11:23 pm