How to Make T-Shirt Yarn - A Picture Tutorial

I am a high school teacher and we get A LOT of t-shirts. I have an entire box full of them. So I decided to use them to make some Christmas stuff (our school colors are green and red). Here is a tutorial I created so you can make your own t-shirt yarn!

T-Shirt Yarn Picture Tutorial:

Step 1: Lay out your t-shirt and smooth all of the wrinkles.Step 2: Cut off the top and bottom portions of the t-shirt. Under the armpits and the seam across the bottom.

Step 3: Fold the bottom of the t-shirt up, leaving about an inch at the top.

Step 4: Fold the shirt again, still leaving the inch at the top. (If you don't have sharp enough scissors, you can skip this step-I skipped it in my tutorial).

Step 5: Cut the t-shirt into even strips. I made my strips about a half an inch thick, you can choose the thickness of yours.

Step 6: Unfold the strips.

Step 7: Put something in the "tube" shape of the t-shirt along the inch strip that has not been cut. This makes it easier to do step 8. I used a plastic storage box that I had laying around.

Step 8: This step is a bit confusing to explain, so make sure to use the visual! Cut diagonal from the first bottom strip to the second top strip. Then cut from the bottom second strip to the top third strip and so on. This will create one long piece of yarn instead of separate strips. (Cut the first and last strips diagonal to the edge of the t-shirt.)

Step 9: Roll your yarn into a ball!

Helpful Hint: When you are done with your cutting, before you roll into a ball, you can slightly tug on your yarn and it will "roll" into a tube. This is helpful and makes it easier to crochet or knot with. However, you can only do this if you don't have screen print on your t-shirt. I used a screen print shirt, so I didn't pull mine and used a much larger crochet hook.

What I Am Making: A Christmas Rug!