Tuesday Tutorial -- T-shirt rug

Everyone today is always talking about Green-this, or Green-that.  When I was growing up it was just repurposing out of necessity.   So, to show that I understand about greening and being frugal, here is a great tutorial about turning old t-shirts into rugs.  How recycled can you get?

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How to Crochet a Rug out of T-Shirts

It's easy to crochet a rag rug made from strips from old T-shirts.

Cal Patch

This is all you'll need to make your own upcycled rag rug.

Cal Patch

Begin cutting at the bottom hem of the shirt. I cut this part half as wide since it's two layers.

Cal Patch

It's easy to crochet a rag rug made from strips from old T-shirts.

It gives me a thrill to make something new, that's useful and beautiful, out of something old and unwanted. Oversized, corporate logo-ed T-shirts are a plentiful resource at your local thrift store or maybe even in your own closet. One of my favorite uses for them is to cut them into strips and crochet them into rugs, like your grandmother's old braided rag rugs but much easier to make!

You will need:

• T-shirts (anywhere from two on up, depending on size rug desired), the bigger the better
• Scissors
• Giant crochet hook (I used 15 mm)

This is all you'll need to make your own upcycled rag rug.

1. Cut the shirts into strips, approximately 1 inch wide. Starting at the bottom, cut in a spiral all the way up the body of the tee, and roll the strip into a ball. Stretch it out as you wind so that the jersey curls up into a cord.

Begin cutting at the bottom hem of the shirt. I cut this part half as wide since it's two layers.

Wind the strip into a ball as you cut.

When you reach the armpits, cut right across the seams until you reach the edge of the sleeves and can't cut continuously anymore. I also cut part of my long strip into some shorter ones so that I can play with the colors.

You can work with long strips, wound into balls, as well as short strips, which will be prejoined for quick color changes.

2. Join the strips. If you're working with long strips wound into balls, you can just overlap the two ends for a few inches when you're ready to join on a new strip or to change colors. But if you want to join lots of short strips for quick color changes, you'll want to join them first so you don't have to keep stopping. Here's how I do it: Cut a small slit in the ends of the two strips you want to join, about 1/2 inch from the end and about 1/4 inch wide.

Go here to finish the tutorial and please leave a comment if you try this out.