How to Cut Continuing T Shirts
Making yarn out of old T-shirts is a smart way to repurpose them and create something totally new. Forming neat little colorful balls of yarn to add to your fabric collection is super satisfying, and once you learn what cuts to make, it should only take you 5-10 minutes per T-shirt. So grab a shirt and a pair of scissors and get crafting!
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1
Iron your T-shirt to remove any wrinkles from the fabric. Your yarn will be smoother and look nicer if your shirt is wrinkle-free before you start cutting it. Don't worry about the shoulders or arms, as you won't use that portion of the shirt in this project. Focus on ironing the body of the shirt, both the front and the back.[1]
- Shirts that are free of writing or embroidery below the chest work the best. Otherwise, the yarn won't curl easily at those points in the fabric.[2]
- For reference, a men's XL T-shirt makes about 28 yards (26 m) of yarn once it's cut and curled.[3]
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Remove any interior labels, so they don't get in the way. Check the inside of your shirt to see if there are any labels along the side seams. If so, use a pair of scissors to cut the label off as close to the fabric as possible. Be careful not to cut the fabric itself![4]
- If there's a tag on the neck, you can leave that in place. Since you aren't using that part of the T-shirt, it doesn't matter if it comes off or not.
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3
Cut across the shirt to remove the section from the armpits up. Use a pair of sharp fabric scissors for the cleanest cut. Try to avoid making any jagged cuts and keep the line as even as possible.[5]
- It will help to lay your shirt down on a flat surface rather than trying to cut it while holding it.
- Save the fabric from the arms and chest to repurpose in other crafting projects.[6]
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4
Remove the hem from the T-shirt. The stitching across the hem won't make a nice piece of yarn, so it's best to cut it off. Make as even and straight of a cut as possible to separate it from the body of the T-shirt.[7]
- The goal at the end of the entire process is to have a nice rectangular piece of fabric from which you can harvest a long, continuous string of yarn.
- Making sure you have super even edges at the top and bottom of the shirt is critical. If either of them looks uneven, use your scissors to straighten them out as best as you can.
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Lay the shirt in front of you with the seams horizontal to your body. The open ends of the shirt should be to your left and right. Do this either on the floor or a flat work surface—anywhere you can spread the shirt out will work![8]
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Make a 1 in (2.5 cm) wide strip by cutting from the bottom seam up toward the top seam. Measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) over from the left side of the shirt, then use scissors to cut straight up from the bottom seam at that point. Stop cutting when you're about 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) from the top seam so the strip is still attached to the rest of the shirt.[9]
- You don't want to cut through the top seam of the T-shirt. If you do, you won't have a continuous length of yarn for your project.
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3
Continue cutting 1 in (2.5 cm) wide strips across the T-shirt. Remember to stop 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) from the top seam so that each strip is still connected to the shirt. Do your best to cut evenly and avoid making any jagged edges.[10]
- To make it easier to cut straight lines, you can use strips of masking tape to mark where you need to cut. Just make sure the width of the masking tape matches how wide you want the strips of fabric to be.[11]
- You could also use fabric chalk and a ruler to mark the lines.[12]
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4
Open the shirt and lay it out over a flat surface. Place the uncut seam over something like an ironing board or a large book so the strips are hanging off of the sides. Position the uncut seam so it's vertical and the strips are to the left and right of it. The next part of the process only requires you to make cuts on this one section of fabric, so using something like an ironing board will keep the already-cut strips out of your way.[13]
- Make sure the strips are on the left and right sides of the uncut seam.[14]
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Cut diagonally from the top left strip to the top right strip. Place your fabric scissors at the bottom of the top left strip. Then, cut up diagonally to the top of the top right strip.[15]
- You never want to make a straight cut from one slit to the next. Every cut should be on a diagonal.[16]
- After you make this cut, let those two strips fall to the side so they're no longer in your way. Now there will be two new strips at the top.
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Repeat with the rest of the strips. Cut from the bottom of the new top left strip up diagonally to the top of the new top right strip, then let those strips fall to the side. Now do the same thing again with the new top strips. Keep repeating this until you've worked your way down through all of the strips.[17]
- If it's helpful, take a piece of fabric chalk and mark the diagonal cuts going all the way down the seam. This can help you keep your place as you go.[18]
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3
Stretch the length of fabric between your hands to curl the yarn. It's that simple—all you have to do is pick up some fabric and pull it. Repeat the process down the entire length of yarn.[19]
- If you used a T-shirt with graphics or printing on it, those parts won't curl. You should still be able to use it for many different types of crafting projects, though!
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4
Roll the yarn into a neat ball to keep it organized for future projects. If you aren't going to use your T-shirt yarn right away, keeping it in a ball will protect it from getting tangled. Just wrap the yarn around your hand to get a ball started, and then continue looping the fabric until all of it is gone.[20]
- Once you learn how to transform a T-shirt into yarn, it won't take you long! You'll have lots of differently-colored options whenever you decide to make something new, like a hot pad, a coaster, or even a basket.
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Shirts that don't have side seams work the best for this craft, but any type will do![21]
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Tie the ends of two separate pieces of yarn together to make one longer, continuous piece.[22]
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Things You'll Need
- T-shirt
- Fabric scissors
- Masking tape (optional)
- Fabric chalk and ruler (optional)
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