DIY Fabric Yarn

Fabric yarn, or t-shirt yarn is, well... yarn made of woven fabric like t-shirts. The fabric is cut into longs strips, and pulled to make the edges curl in. Since this type of yarn is rather thick and sturdy, it is often used to crochet small furniture like poofs and lampshades, or firm items like bowls.

small baskets, lamp shade, large basket, hanging basket

As you can see, you can make amazing items with it! Because it's getting pretty popular, there are more and more places where you can get this yarn. One of the most well-known brands that produce it, is Hoooked, and they have an enormous variety of colours and prints. It is a bit pricey, though, and besides, when you're DIY-ing, you might as well make your own yarn, right?

What you need
a t-shirt 
a ruler
a (sharp!) knife or scissors
a cutting board with scale

1) Fold the t-shirt in half lengthwise, so that you have four layers of fabric on top of each other. Make sure you don't fold the side seems of the t-shirt directly on top of each other, but let the bottom layer stick out for a few cm.

2) Cut off the hem. Use scissors, or a really sharp knife and a ruler.

3) Cut +/- 5 cm wide strips. Cut all the way through the four layers of fabric, but leave the few cm of the bottom layer that is sticking out intact. When you reach the sleeves of the t-shirt, cut the top off entirely.

4) Open the shirt. You now have a bunch of loops that are all connected to the broad, uncut base on the "left side" of the t-shirt.

5) Lay this base down flat and start cutting diagonally: from the bottom of the shirt to the first cut, from the first cut to the second, etc., until you have one long strip of fabric.

6) In order to turn this fringy strip into actual yarn, you will have to pull it, so that the fringed edges curl inward. The side seems may poke out a bit, so you might want to trim them a bit.

7) And your beautiful homemade yarn is done! Just roll it into a ball and craft it into something pretty :)

Tips
- use printed fabric
- dye a white t-shirt in your favourite colour
- make ombre yarn
- make several balls of yarn in matching prints and colours 

xx
Lisa