HOW TO: T-shirt Yarn

At Madam Chino, transforming t-shirts is the goal! There are many more ways implement this cool cutting technique around curves of shoulders, individual sleeves, and any area that could be considered a closed tube, whether its curved or straight. The bodice of the shirt is the most obvious place to start because it gives you more yarn and has no seams, but don't forget to recycle the rest of it! Weaving is a great place for scraps that don't look quality in other situations.

In this technique, essentially you are creating a spiral around and around the bodice, without having to cut with a scissors and run around in circles.

MATERIALS: fabric scissors, rotary cutter, long clear ruler, self healing mat, dowels, t-shirts, wool winder!

Use a rotary cutter and self healing mat! Use a straight clear ruler or free-style your cuts if you feel bold and accurate. Cut 1" strips from one folded side of the bodice to the other, leaving a small margin approx 2" wide before cutting through the other folded side (as pictured where dowel is). I use dowels to manage the fabric easily while doing the next steps.

I pick up the dowel and shake out the margin until it is facing me.

Here's a line up of precut shirts ready for the next step

Use a scissors an cut from the edge of the fabric into the slit of first column. Cut from bottom of one slit to the top of the next or the top of one slit to the bottom of the next, either way. Essentially you are cutting diagonals between each of the columns, connecting them to the next one seamlessly. As long as they connect to the next, you will create an entire single strip of fabric which can then be wound up into a ball using a tool called a wool winder

These can be purchased online for approximately $20

The dowel helps to smoothly feed the yarn although you have to manage it with both hands.