Does anyone know what I can make out of old T-shirts? Something I can wear or what not.
Amanda from SC
You can cut them into rags, or put them over your car seats for covers, and even re-construct them into tank tops or night shirts. Or if they're still wearable, give them to someone who needs them. (03/02/2008)
By laramay
Here in Southwest AZ., we spend a lot of time outside so I use worn T-shirts to cover cushions for outdoor furniture. You can just pin the excess to the back of the cushion. (03/03/2008)
By Pat
They make great rag rugs. A half double crochet is the best stitch to use. (03/04/2008)
By susan
You can make many interesting cuts in the shirt and fringe the bottom and make a hippie shirt. I wear them all the time. You simply cut the bottom and sleeve hems off, not the sleeves if you don't want, make cuts about 3 quarters of an inch apart all the way around, and pull on them. it causes them to curl into a fringe. I put pony beads on mine, they're really cool. :) (03/05/2008)
By Lily
My son-in-law is an amateur water skier who competes nationwide. He has purchased tee shirts with logos from all of the tournaments, all quite artful, I might add. I took his favorites and made them into a quilt. I cut the logo from the chest or back portion of the tee shirt and ironed it onto Wonder Under before sewing the squares together.
Find the biggest logo and cut all the others into same-sized squares. Leave some white around each logo when cutting. After sewing the squares together, I bought a queen sized sheet made from that "tee-shirt material", filled it with Warm & Natural, turned the edges over from the bottom and sewed a binding. Be sure and wash the sheet and the tee shirts before making the quilt.
The quilt is not real heavy and that thing has been washed a hundred times without it falling apart (only by God's merciful Grace because I didn't actually know what I was doing when I made it). (03/05/2008)
By Carolyn
Try making a traditional colonial braided rug from old cotton T-shirts. Cut worn T-shirts horizontally into 2" wide strips then snip the rings so they open up into a long strip. Some people sew the strips together to make a long snaky string, but I just slightly roll the fabric and weave the new ends into the braid approximately 3" from the end of the old one as I braid. I like to use groups of 3 colors together to make my braid (i.e., red/white/blue or dark blue/med blue/white).
As you braid every few feet, go back and wind your braid into an oval and hand-sew each new ring of braid to the ring that went before using a slip or other invisible stitch (I prefer nylon upholstery thread as it is indestructible). Make your braids fairly tight as this adds strength to the rug. You can make a huge braid out of dozens of old T-shirts then go back and sew it into an oval later, but I find it less tedious to sew as you go.
Don't be afraid to change colors every so often to make concentric stripes. The nice thing about doing it this way is that you can use T-shirts that have moderate staining or minor wear that otherwise would go into the trash because the braiding hides a lot of sins (just don't use parts that have worn so thin they compromise the strength of your rug). These make good doorway, bathroom, or kitchen-sink rugs because you can wash them.
Unlike "real" colonial wool rugs, you can just throw these in a big soapy bucket of hot water to soak overnight, throw them over the railing of your deck, hose them down, and let them dry in the sun. (07/24/2008)
By Anna
I have seen several things made by local artists in stores and I have been saving old shirts to make into bags. I've also made a couple that have patches on them, this way you don't have to get rid of old shirts you love.
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