Funkychicken's Do It Better: No-Sew T-shirt Upcycyling

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

I love doing this with t-shirts. Who doesn't have an old t-shirt laying around? It is also really inexpensive to go to a local thrift store and find a t-shirt in the size and color to your liking.

There are so many books out there that give you creative ideas for your old t-shirts.

I have done some projects from Generation T. Most of them are really easy and fun and you don't need a sewing machine. Some are kinda boring and don't seem like they would hold together well. But it is something fun to do when you are feeling crafty and don't have a lot of time or money.

This is one project I did from Generation T. It is a shrug made from two t-shirts.

One project I am going to do today was forwarded to me by a friend. She found it at This Old Dress.

It is T-shirt Braided Scarf

MATERIALS NEEDED:

- Fabric OR XL used seamless t-shirt (no need to buy new)

- Fabric scissors

That's it! WOW!

ABOUT THE FABRIC:

You will need approximately 1 - 2 meters of fabric depending on the desired length. I chose a cotton t-shirt size XXL. You can do XL also because the width of the t-shirt will determine how long your scarf is and the length will determine the thickness. Also, avoid using t-shirts with seams sewn on the sides as they will look unsightly when braided. No no no to seams. Make sure you wash your t-shirt before doing this project, ESPECIALLY if you bought it from a thrift store. You never know who wore it before you!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make sure you wash and dry your t-shirt before doing this project. ESPECIALLY if you bought it from a thrift store. You never know who wore it before you!

Next you want to lay it flat and cut out the body of the shirt by cutting off the hem on the bottom as well as the top portion of the shirt by cutting right under the armpit

Cut 1/2 - 1 inch strips along the width of the fabric creating loops. I cut out the strips freehand...you do not need to be exact, but try to make sure that the strips are about the same size. If the edges are jagged it's ok...they will be rolled up anyways.

Once all the strips have been cut out, gently tug along the length of the strips to curl the edges under. Make sure to stretch each loop out evenly, otherwise you can end up with some longer than others.

Cut through one end of the fabric so you have long strands of cotton instead of circular loops. Leave one strand aside, as you will be using it to secure the braid later on.

You will need to find something to anchor one end of the fabric to keep the strands in place while you braid. I followed This Old Dress and used a table to anchor it down.

Leave a good amount of fabric to be unbraided as this will form the free flowing strands that you see in the photo. I left approximately a foot of fabric.

Next you will need to divide your strands into three equal sections. Should be about four strands for each section, doesn't have to be...just roughly the same.
Now it's braiding time!!! I believe that most of you know how to preform a simple braid, but just in case you don't....watch this video here. Braid down the length of the fabric again leaving about a foot of fabric unbraided at the bottom. Make sure you braid a small section at a time as the strands below the braid get tangled fairly quickly. Brush through them every so often to prevent this from happening.

Once the braid is complete, gently remove it from whatever you used to anchor it and tie the two ends of the braid together with the strand you saved earlier. Wrap it around the ends several times and double knot it to secure. Almost done!!