I needed a bath mat, and thought I could perhaps turn some of the ratty t-shirts around here into a rug instead of cutting them up for rags as I usually do. I am oversupplied with rags right now, but not bath mats! I'm calling this low-waste because I can't compost it when it wears out: one or two of the tees had some polyester content.
I looked at a few YouTube videos of people crocheting rugs and got a big plastic crochet hook. I simply cut the t-shirts into approximately 1" wide strips, as long as I could make the strips, and then sewed them end-to-end on my sewing machine as needed.
I found the crochet process addictive and delightful. Since I was making an oval, there were no ends of rows that invited me to stop, so I often kept on just going around and around. I started with about a six-inch ball of t-shirt yarn, and when that ran out I made another and kept going. I think there may be four or five t-shirts in this rug. It is actually somewhat heavy for its size and a little wonky in places due to the casual way I cut the strips.
I also went back in with a needle and white thread and tacked down some of the more flyaway ends, which did not bother me at all. I'm sure a more experienced crochet-er could make a tidier rug, but overall, I am quite pleased. Phoebe has already requested a colorful crocheted rug for her room! We'll see.
Love it! What a delightful way to repurpose discards to a usable thing that is attractive.
ReplyDeleteMiddle-aged existential thoughts: I can relate! I have only one child - and she is 13 — and I'm thinking so much about how her development is asking me to develop as well. Also, it's just hard —I'm sure it's hard to be 13, but it's also hard to be the mother of someone who is 13! Thank you for checking in: missed your voice.
ReplyDeleteSorry - this is Sarah: (I almost never comment, but I'm a longtime reader...)
ReplyDeleteI love that you are doing this! Upcycling beats throwing away every time! I have also made some t-shirt rugs after a friend told me about it. I looked online and there is a way of cutting the shirt on a diagonal that lets you create long strips. Now I have a dedicated under-bed storage container for old t-shirts that will be future rugs... uh oh!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to air your middle aged processing and existential thoughts here! I'm sure we will all chime in.
Elizabeth
I love this!! Perfect timing as my husband just cycled out a bunch of old t-shirts, and my bath mats are 30 years old if not more and are falling apart (having been mended several times). Was there a tutorial you found particularly helpful? (This is Melanie G - can’t sign in for some reason.)
ReplyDeleteTrying to fix the sign in/comment problems: I changed the comments to full page instead of embedded, which means I can't respond directly to individual comments. But let's see if it helps!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah, for that phrase: "how her development is asking me to develop as well." Great to ponder.
Thanks, Elizabeth, for the invitation to air my thoughts and hear from you all! Also will ponder.
Melanie G, I looked at several tutorials to see what problems I might encounter since I'm more of a knitter than crochet-er. I was worried about keeping an oval and how to prepare the "yarn." One maker was cutting up old sheets, not knit tee shirts (interesting idea for future discarded textiles!). I didn't follow anyone's method specifically and I didn't save their links. I hope you have good success with your rugs!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAnother fan here! I got into making (weaving, not knitting or crocheting) rugs when a local soap maker named Sarah pointed me to this video -- link at the end of this paragraph. We both made looms and a few small throw rugs, but what blew us both away was the cute way of joining strips together with no sewing (!!!). If you want, the nip-and-tuck join is at about 5 minutes into this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIeqHdVQf1o&t=19s
ReplyDeleteMy sister just gave me a large box of her and her husband's old jeans. He's in construction, and so goes through his pants at a clip. I think I'm going to try my hand at making a yoga mat . . . we'll see! Meanwhile, I love your t-shirt foot rug.
(Also had trouble signing in: this is 'Snough, from over at https://enoughingit.blogspot.com/)
ReplyDelete'Snough, thank you so much for that amazing video tutorial! Love her method! Now pondering that for future rugs. . .
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Your kiddos are getting so BIG!!! Happy New year!
ReplyDeleteAnd what does your tree and home look like? You have nice decor!
ReplyDeleteHey, as someone who for a long time had to trim my tshirts shorter, I think this could be a lot easier. Since the tshirts are knit in the round you can, theoretically, "unravel" them also in the round. So if you cut up one inch, then tear the shirt in the right direction, it'll create one long continuous strip all the way up the shirt. Surely won't work perfect everytime but it is satisfying, fun, and hopefully more convenient and consistent than cutting apart/sewing together!
ReplyDeleteAnon, thanks for that tip!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate both the durability of t-shirt mats and the recycling. They are *very* heavy in the washing machine, though, and always unbalance the spin cycle in mine. That may be their only flaw, though ....!
ReplyDeleteWhat a mighty fine rag rug bathmat!
ReplyDelete(Perhaps this will finally inspire me to finish the post I've had in my Drafts for three years! I've never been happy with the photos/details about how I cut the shirt to get a continuous strip...so it has remained a draft. I, too, crochet my rag rugs though. I watched a friend to a braided-and-then-coiled-and-whipstitched beauty that I knew I would never commit to such a fussy method. The crochet was a snap comparatively.)
That photo of you and your husband is SO sweet. Awwww, how lovely! I hope your new year is off to a swell start. March already!?!?! Egads!
Love this! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI recently crocheted an oval rug too, but used old sheets.
So satisfying to turn old items into something attractive & useful!
-Shauna
Love this! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI recently crocheted an oval rug too, but used old sheets.
So satisfying to turn old items into something attractive & useful!
-Shauna