Tutorial: Braided Neckline

After seeing some braided neckline tops on Pinterest I started thinking about how I could make my own.  It really was easy once I figured out that it wasn’t braiding, but crochet. For this project you will need knit fabric(I used some t-shirts from dollar days at the Goodwill, but next time I’ll start with just knit fabric), scissors, and a large crochet hook.I started by cutting the neck band and sleeves off of my tie dyed shirt and making the navy blue shirt into two inch wide yarn (how to here).Next I cut 1/2” wide slits around the neckline of the shirt, about 1/2” from the edge.  I then cut another row of 1/2” wide slits about an inch from the edge, staggering my cuts.If you know how to crochet this will be super easy, but don’t worry if you don’t, I know you can do this.  In the middle of the back, starting with the row of slits that is 1” from the edge pull a loop of the t-shirt yarn from the wrong side through to the right side using the crochet hook. (I know there are two loops in this picture, I got carried away and forgot to take a photo of the one).Put the hook, from the outside of the shirt, into the next hole to the left and pull another loop of yarn to the right side.  You should now have two loops on your hook.Pull the second loop you made through the first loop, you have just made one chain stitch.  Continue pulling another loop through the next hole to the left and through the right hand loop on the hook.
Go all the way around.  When you get back to the hole where the first loop came through make one more chain stitch and then work the next row of slits by pulling a loop through the closest hole to the left of where you are.When you are finished tie working end to the beginning tail where you started. I know it sounds complicated, but it’s not and if you need help you can ask here or email me.
Things to remember:

• your slits don’t have to be perfect, they are going to stretch and you can’t tell if they are wonky
• This technique gathers the fabric, use a shirt that is larger than you normally wear
• crochet loosely, you want the neckline to remain stretchy
• you don’t have to used t-shirt yarn, you can just crochet the slits.  This makes a smaller, rigid braid and more gathered fabric
• after you finish the first round you can switch directions with your crochet so the rows look different (that’s what I did)
• knit fabric doesn’t fray, so you don’t have to finish the edges, but you can

I haven’t finished this top (hemmed the sleeves or adjusted the length because when I finished the edging I realized that there was a hole in the fabric right in the middle of the front, so I’m going to think on how to remedy that situation.  I might end up making this a bubble dress for Little Miss, we'll see.
Have a super crafty weekend!!!

Post Holiday T-Shirt Yarn Part 2

So, I was sad that my t-shirt yarn curled the design to the inside, but I decided to use it anyway.  It turned out really well, the red and the blue can still be seen, but they are muted and it looks really shabby chic.  I decided to make a halter top for Little Miss, I knew this fabric would look cute with jeans.  What that means is I basically knitted a triangle.  I added some braided straps and picked up stitches along the side to make a strap to go across her back.

I was planning on using the leftover stars and stripes fabric to make some sort of ruffled bottom, but when I randomly set the top down on ugly shirt number two it just clicked.  The softer colors on this flag shirt complimented the new yarn better and it would look less Forth of July.I think it’s pretty cute, I love working with t-shirts, especially since the edges don’t fray.  I still need to sew the buttons on the strap and check the length of the “skirt” part of the top, but this has been a great success!

I think the next thing I would like to make with t-shirt yarn is a rug for the bathroom, now I need to pick some colors that would look good in there and start stocking up on t-shirts.

Holiday Shirts, Post Holiday T-Shirt Yarn

It seems like every Holiday has it’s own festive brand of tacky shirt and now that the forth of July has passed there is an abundance of flag themed shirts in the local thrift stores. My Mother rescued these two, thinking they were both tie dyed, only one was and it was really more splatter dyed, oh and covered in stiff glitter paint fireworks (don’t worry, I have plans for this one). This flag themed shirt was made into yarn. I really enjoy turning a not so great shirt into some fun yarn and there is a quick and easy way to do it: Start by cutting off the bottom hem of the shirt. Then cut across the shirt from armpit to armpit. You’ll be left with a tube from the center of the shirt.Here, you can see, I’ve folded the tube so one folded edge is about an inch and a half past the other fold. Using a rotary cutter and straight edge cut strips one half inch wide without cutting through the top fold. When you open up your fabric it will look like this, BTW putting it on your cutting mat, like this, is a pain in the arse, I don’t recommend it! To make the yarn cut from the first strip, diagonally to the second strip and continue cutting diagonally like this until you reach the end. Cut the first strip (on the right in this picture) to a point. To finish your new yarn, stretch it so the edges curl and roll into a ball. BTW if you mound your freshly cut yarn up like this it will end up getting knotted and will take forever to untangle, ask me how I know. I was disappointed that this fabric curled with the printed side of the shirt in, but it turned out to be for the best.

A few tips/hints:

This technique only works on knit shirts without side seams, the seams will pull apart when you cut your strips.

Use a very large crochet hook or knitting needles when working with this yarn. It will make a heavy fabric if knitted on smaller needles.

Wash your shirt before cutting if it is dirty or you’ll end up with dirty yarn.

Knit fabric doesn’t fray, but it does shed little lint balls, it can be messy.

The top and sleeves can also be cut into yarn, but you will have to do it by hand with scissors, cutting in a spiral on the front piece and the back piece minimizes the knots needed to connect the yarn.

Check back later this week and see what I made from these two shirts, and let me know if you have any questions about making T-shirt yarn.

I Made Tye Dyed Yarn

When I was at the Goodwill last week I found the most striking tye dyed shirt, it was fuchsia and lime green!  I knew that I just had to have it to make some t-shirt yarn.During nap time I started cutting my yarn, I worked very hard to use almost every last bit.I ended up with a 198 gram ball.  I was so excited to start knitting that I forgot to take a picture of the ball, it was really pretty.  I had originally thought that I would make another washcloth or two, but at the last minute I decided to make a drop stitch scarf.It is definitely bright, I really like this color combo.  The fabric is warm and surprisingly heavy, I sure it will be super warm.  My only regret it that I wish it was longer, but I always say that!

I need more tye dyed shirts, I haven’t seen many since I started wanting them, what’s up with that?  I would love to make some sort of rug out of them.  I’ll have to decide what color family to use and then stock up on $.99 day or I could just get all white/light colors and tye dye them myself.