Make Textile Yarn Yourself
There is an easy way to make textile yarn yourself. Sometimes you just can’t find good colors or maybe the price is not right. And if you have a few, or a lot, of old sorted out clothes, why not make it yourself? I have done so when I crocheted floor cushions and ran out of the original yarn.
Textile yarn is also referred to as t-shirt yarn. But since it is not only made from t-shirt fabric, I prefer the term textile yarn.
When you want to make your own textile yarn, you first have to sort your old clothes. Jeans and heavier jogging pants make excellent thick yarn, perfect for baskets, big bags or floor pillows. Look for the directions here: https://spoonsandscissors.com/big-bag-for-all-your-yarn/ and here: https://spoonsandscissors.com/easy-to-make-floor-pillows/
T-Shirts, long or short sleeved, make great yarn for small bags and purses. It also works for floor rugs (though I personally prefer thicker yarn for that), seat covers, poufs, small bowls, pencil containers and much more. Here you find the directions for a purse: https://spoonsandscissors.com/make-a-textile-yarn-purse-for-yourself/
Clothes without the side seams are of course the best, but you can always work around them. Lay out your piece of clothing flat on a table or any other smooth surface.
With a t-shirt, cut off the top part, with the neck and sleeves, straight across. If necessary cut the bottom as well. As you can see, my t-shirt was longer in the back. I had to cut off the bottom as well.
Cut the top part Straight across Cut bottom if necessary
Once the t-shirt is cut, fold one side 2/3 up. The cut sides are right and left. This is to get the cutting done more easily.
Now start cutting even strips. Make sure not to cut through on the very top. Otherwise you will end up with t-shirt loops 🙂
Of course the width of the strips can vary. It depends on how thick you want your yarn. My strips are about a finger wide. Also don’t worry if your strips are not perfectly even. The way textile yarn stretches a little when you are using it, it won’t be noticable.
Unfold the part you folded up previously and you can see the long strips you have cut.
Finally you unfold the entire shirt and put the yet uncut part flat on the table.
And here comes the final step. You have to cut the uncut part and do it diagonally to get a continuing strand of yarn. Do not cut straight across! If you do then you will end up with t-shirt loops. I have done that before and it is so … grrr. So watch out when doing the final step.
If you have done everything correctly you will end up with a whole bunch of yarn, like this:
Now start rolling up your new textile yarn and you are ready for your new project.
This is the main way of cutting the clothes for textile yarn. If you like you can also use the smaller pieces such as sleeves and cut them this way. With jeans and jogging pants I cut the strips longways up the legs and usually don’t fold the fabric as it is harder to cut. Remember that every piece will give you different lenghts in yarn. Just add them together by tying a knot. As usual, the strands will be hidden in the end.
