How to make t-shirt yarn

A quick tutorial on how to make t-shirt yarn

I loved learning to crochet with t-shirt yarn. The best thing about t-shirt yarn is that you can make it youself really easily out of t-shirts (yes – really!) or other old clothes.

There are loads of tutorials available online, but here is my quick version – for those of you who just want a recap, or to get the general idea really quickly, but you can also read on for more in depth instructions for each step. Here is a video version of this same tutorial.

How to make t-shirt yarn – full instructions

What you need:
A t-shirt, or some other old clothes to cut up
Something to cut with. I used a cutting knife and a cutting board, although a rotary cutter would work better if you have one. You could also use scissors.

1. Cut off the top and bottom of the t-shirt so you are left with a tube of fabric.
You could potentially use any other kind of garment, as long as you can cut it into a tube, and it is made of suitable material. For example, I made yarn out of old pajama bottoms, and in this case, the ‘tube’ was one of the trouser legs.
Make sure you cut off all seams and folds so you have as clean piece of fabric to work with.

2. Cut a series of slits up one side of the tube
Each slit should be about 3 centimeters apart and should end about 5cm from the other end of the tube.
These slits will eventually make one continuous string of yarn, so make sure to space them evenly to ensure this finished yarn is of a consistant width.

3. Open up the tube at one end, and cut diagonally into the first slit
To begin the yarn, you need an end! Open up the tube of fabric so the part of the fabric that you didn’t cut slits into is accessible, and cut diagonally from this area into the first slit from the edge of the fabric.

4. Cut diagonally from one slit to the next to create one continuous strip of fabric.
Cut in the same diagonal direction from one slit to the next,working your way across the tube. With this technique you are effectively cutting the original tube in a spiral pattern to make one continuous strip,.
Make sure not to miss any of the loops/strips, or you will lose the continuity of the yarn. Move the cut yarn out of the way as you go along to avoid getting mixed up or acidentally cutting the wrong part.

5. Continue until you reach the last slit
Continue in the same way until you reach the last slit. Finish the yarn in the same way you began, by cutting diagonally to the edge of the fabric.

6. Pull the yarn taught, and the yarn should curl.
This will vary depending on the fabric, but a standard t-shirt should curl well. Simply pull the yarn tight between your hands, section by section for the whole piece of yarn. This makes it look a lot cleaner and professional, and I think it makes it easier to work with too.

And thats it!
That’s all you need to know to make your own yarn. How simple is that?

Taking it futher…

Joining t-shirt yarn

To join several pieces of t-shirt yarn together for a bigger project there are a few different things you could try, depending on how much time you have, and how neat you want the finished product to be.

1. Tie the ends together and/or thread all loose ends back through whatever you are making
2. Sew the ends together either by hand, or with a sewing machine
3. Try this crazy loopy thing: