One of our “new shop” projects has been making toys  for the kids playroom.  Going along with the addition of our Handmade Market, we’d love for all of the these toys to be handmade, creative learning, or art focused.

We are currently looking for a small table to transform into a play kitchen.  Keep your eyes out for us!

This week we finished a rug made of t-shirts.  It was a bit time consuming- start to finish (cutting, knotting, crocheting, sewing, and finishing touches) on the upside of 10 hours.  But, it’s not a complicated process so much was completed while watching evening TV.

Up-cycled T-Shirt Rug Tutorial

upcycled teal and gray t-shirt rug tutorial
Materials (for a 3.5 foot diameter rug)

  • 20 Adult size T-shirts– We used a mix of junior’s XS to men’s XL
  • 6mm Crochet Hook– Get a metal one, the plastic ones will break
  • Spool of Thread– We used nylon thinking it would hold up better and less likely to break while sewing
  • Scissors and a Hand Sewing Needle

 

Step #1 Cutting
Dollar Store Crafts has a simple tutorial for cutting a t-shirt into yarn.  For this project your strips should be 1.5″ wide.

Step #2 Knotting
We knotted the pieces together to make one continuous piece.  I didn’t think the loose tails would bother me in the finished product but they did.  So we spent some extra time sewing the knots and trimming. If I did it again I would sew the pieces together with my machine before crocheting.  The Dollar Store Crafts link mentioned above also shows a no-sew way to link the pieces.

Step #3 Crochet
Start with one end and tie a knot to form a loop. Put your hook through the loop and use it to pull a small portion of t-shirt through the loop. This will tighten to create a new loop. Repeat many times!

single crochet photo tutorial
*Note The plastic crochet hook snapped in half after about 2 t-shirts. Use a metal one!

Step #4 Sewing
Your needle should be sharp and strong enough to work through the fabric but you don’t want it so thick that it leaves gaping holes. We used a 2″ needle.

Grab one end and start circling.  Once you have a few rows start sewing them together. how to sew a t-shirt rug
Tips:

  • Laying the rug out on a flat surface while sewing will help keep everything flat and circular.
  • If you pull your thread too tight the rug will get bumpy.  Give it some breathing room.
  • Keep all stitches hidden or at least only visible on one side.

Finished

up-cycled t-shirt rug tutorial