Multiple Uses for T-shirts
I look into my closet and realize I have a large number of t-shirts.
Ones from races, ones from work, ones from rugby, and a long list of others.
T-shirts have become inexpensive and I seem to always be collecting new ones. I
know I can’t wear all of them so I periodically go through my closet to thin
out the ones I don’t wear. I could just donate them to a charity, but some of
them I don’t wear, yet they have meaning to me or they have holes and probably
won’t be worn by anyone. Overtime I have started to re-purpose t-shirts in
various ways.
Quilts
I have a quilt that my godmother made when I was in high
school. Twenty-five years later I still have that quilt. I have a lot of
t-shirts that I don’t wear, but they hold memories. Whether it be the years I
spent mentoring youth in 4-H, all the races I have been a part of, or the years
of playing rugby, they all are part of a story. What better way to remember the
story then creating a quilt to be used for years to come! A throw quilt to keep
you warm on the couch on a cold winter night or to take along on a rugby trip,
keeping the light out in the car in order to catch a couple of zzzz’s!
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| T-shirt Lap Quilt |
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Rugs
We have a lot of hardwood floors so it is nice to have a
couple of throw rugs by the doors to help trap all of the dirt and debris that
can be dragged into the house. After having to replace a couple of rugs I
needed to find rugs I could easily throw in the washing machine if needed. I
used the scrapes left after making my t-shirt quilt to make crotchet a rag rug.
I cut the scrapes into long stripes, similar to a thick yarn, and was able to
use this t-shirt yarn to crotchet a rug. I had tried to use the traditional toothbrush technique, but decided to crotchet it instead, since I am for efficient at crocheting.
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| T-shirt Rag Rug |
I also had a large number of smaller scrapes of t-shirt
fabric that I hadn’t found a purpose for yet. I had been in the process of
making a latch hook rug from scrapes of yarn left over from crocheting and
knitting projects. I had seen pictures of latch hook rugs from ribbons and
t-shirts and decided to try it out! It will be a little harder to wash, but
since it is made of durable t-shirt fabric (that I seem to have a never ending
supply of) it should be easier to clean compared to a traditional rag rug.
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| T-shirt Latch Hook Rug in Progress |
Pillows
One of the many t-shirts I had obtained over the year was an
M&M from one of my sister’s themed baby shower. She has collected M&M
items for years. After the shower I held on to the t-shirt for a while but
never wore it. When her son came and the nursery was M&M themed, I had a
wonderful idea of turning the t-shirt into a large pillow, perfect for a little
boy’s bedroom! Thankfully I had some stuffing left over from a previous
project, so a little bit of sewing, and a lot of stuffing, resulted in a
pillow, perfect for an M&M themed room!
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| M&M Pillow |
Cat Bed
I do workshops with youth periodically. One of the workshops
I had done was showing how to weave a rag rug using a hula hoop. The youth had
a fun time cutting up old t-shirts and weaving them into a rug. After we took
the rugs off of the hoops, one of the rugs ended up being more of a basket.
When they took the rug/basket home, their cat quickly adopted it for their new
bed! Perfect, especially since they could easily wash the cat be if they needed
to!
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| Rug turned Cat Bed |
New Shirt
My sister gave me a volunteer t-shirt for the local county
fair. I volunteer to help her when I can and she asks that I wear one of the
fair shirts. Normally I would be on board, but sometimes it can be very hot and
humid, so a t-shirt is not the first thing I want to wear. So instead of just
wearing a regular t-shirt, I made a few adjustments and made it into more of a
tank top! She loved what I did and asked me to alter some of her shirts so she
could wear them during the fair also, especially when it is really hot in the
middle of July!
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| Tank Top |
These are just a few of the many ways you can re-purpose
t-shirts. What are some of your favorites?
