I cannot claim that this was my idea, because it is not! While browsing books in Borders, I came accross a book about craft ideas, that were a bit 'home-made' looking but really nice. One article particularly caught my attention: how to make a bathmat from old t-shirts. the idea is simple, when you outgrow or outwear your t-shirts, give them a new lease of life by turning them into bath mats. How - I hear you asking!- Cut strips of the t-shirt, knot together and sew a square, it makes a really nice, unusual, absorbant mat. Now I am not a good knitter,I can't read patterns, can only do plain and purl, and straight pieces, get bored with it if it doesn't grow quickly enough (hence my love of big needles and chunky yarn), also with a bit of athritis is my hands, my hand/finger joints ache very easily, so can't spend a long time knitting at one time. So what better project than chunky needles, strips of t-shirt and aiming for a square.
I casted on as many stitches that the needles could comfortably hold, without bunching them up too much, and looked decent enough for my mat. 33 stitches.
To date I have had strips from 3 t-shirts and ongoing
I actually only took a piece from the bottom half of the tishirts as the rest went as bedding for the cats! (doubling up on their recycleability).
The strips were not cut perfectly equal, but about an inch wide, and the knots are left visible, at least for now any way. here is a photo of my progress:
My bathmat has not grown! I haven't disposed of any t-shirts lately, although I need to sort out my clothes soon!
Aha! i've been busy cutting up some t-shirts that are no longer wearable, also a fabulous pair of pj trousers that were cut way too low for my likeing, and never did feel comfortable, and they are made of a lovely stripped fabric, yay more jersey strips for my mat!
Ihave, I have, I have actually finished my mat! I'm using it in the bathroom, and lovin it! will get a picture up as soon as I can!
3 comments:
very cool! i love upcycling.
Looks awesome! If you don't want to deal with the knots you could try fabric glue. I knit with t-shirt's and jersey a lot and the glue is durable. But you get a cool look from the knots.
Will you post progress pics? I'd love to see more :)
I have been knitting and crocheting strips of fabric for years. I make everything from mats to to totes/bags/purses. Some of these are on my Etsy site. I use everything from old clothing to old sheets. Sometimes I knot the fabric and others I sew long strip together.
A way to recycle that is lots of fun. *S*
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