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Learn How to Upcycle Fabric Scraps and Old T-shirts Into Yarn
Edited: May 17, 2022
Many of us likely have old t-shirts or fabric scraps laying around the house, which is why we’re happy to share this scrap-busting DIY yarn tutorial by Jule and Masha from the Berlin, Germany, craft group Trial&Error! Once you’re done creating your new yarn, you can then use it for knitting, macramé, tawashi sponges or any other thicker yarn-based project.
Do You Know Where Your Old Clothes End Up?
Jule and Masha: Only 1% of used textiles are recycled into new garments. Although most donated clothing items can still be worn, if they’re not sold (which many aren’t), they often end up in either incinerators or landfills creating massive amounts of waste.
Instead of letting our once-loved clothes turn into textile waste, we can easily repair and upcycle our torn, ill-fitting or out-of-style clothes… or even those items in our closet we’ve never worn that still have tags on them!
Do you have an old t-shirt at home you no longer wear, but don’t want to throw away? Or maybe you have some extra fabric left over from a sewing project? Let’s learn how to turn them both into yarn that can be used in new and fun ways!
DIY Fabric Yarn
Featured designs: Painterly Pollinators Fabric by gingerlique and Marguerite Fond Bleu by nadja_petremand
Materials List
- Fabric scissors
- Jersey fabric scraps & old t-shirts (non-ribbed texture)
Skill Level
Beginner
Pro Tip:
Pro-tip: Jersey fabrics are particularly suitable for this DIY yarn project because they are very stretchy and won’t fray, and can therefore be rolled up into a yarn shape easily. We do not recommend using non-stretch fabric.
3 Easy Steps to Make Your Own Yarn from Scraps
Cut the Fabric
Spread your jersey fabric smoothly in front of you on a flat surface. In the photos, we’ve used a cotton jersey fabric. This fabric is particularly suitable because it can be stretched in all four directions and rolls up very well by itself (which we’ll show in the next step).
Start cutting from one corner of the fabric to the next corner with a distance of about 0.8” (2 cm) from the edge. Cut around the fabric piece in a spiral shape, keeping the same .8″ inch distance from the edge as you go around. Continue like this until you reach the center of the fabric. In order for your yarn to have enough stability, it is important to keep the fabric strip approximately 0.8” (2 cm) thick.
Stretch the Fabric
Now pull and stretch all the way down the fabric strip to make it longer and provide a more uniform structure (and make it actually look like yarn!). Whenever you come across protruding corners, which were created by the spiral cut, you can cut them round.
Wind the Yarn
Wind the yarn into a ball so it can easily be used later. You’re done! Now let’s learn about the t-shirt method.
5 Steps to Make Your Own Yarn from T-Shirts
Cut the Ends
Lay your t-shirt on a smooth surface and cut the hem and sleeves off.
Cut Into Strips
Cut the t-shirt into strips about 0.8” (2 cm) wide, leaving a 1.2” border (3 cm) on the left side.
Make Diagonal Cuts
Unfold the shirt for this next step. After, cut away the first strip (very important!) and then cut diagonally from the second to the first strip, then from the third to the second… until you reach the end of the shirt.
Stretch the Strips
You should have a single, long continuous strip like we did in the fabric scrap portion of this DIY. Pull and stretch all the way down the strip.
Wrap the Yarn
Wrap your new fabric yarn into a ball to easily use whenever you need it.
If you DIYed some yarn using this tutorial, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram with #spoonflower so we can admire your work!
7 Tips for More Sustainable Textile Consumption
Now that you know how easy it is to upcycle your old clothes, here are some bonus tips to keep in mind when you are looking for new items.
- Buy less to reduce your consumption
- Buy used (Or hold clothing swap parties with friends and community members!)
- Focus on quality over quantity
- Look for cotton instead of polyester, as cotton is biodegradable
- Seek out fair fashion vs. fast fashion
- Wash your clothes less to keep them looking great for longer
- Learn to repair clothing to extend its lifecycle
Sustainability with Spoonflower
Check out our collection of green DIYs perfect for an eco-friendly life.
16 Sustainable TutorialsAbout the Author
Jule
Jule has been part of Trial&Error for 6 years. She is particularly interested in the circular economy and cultures created around sharing and swapping. She offers workshops on textile upcycling, creative environmental education with children and youth and how to achieve zero waste at home. She is a firm believer in grassroots revolutions and in the idea that everyone can make an important contribution to systemic change through their own consumption choices. Hence her favorite motto: “Be creative, get out of consumption roles and be the change.”
About the Author
Masha
Masha is involved in hands-on teaching of climate-friendly everyday practices. For several years she has been giving workshops at Trial&Error on natural cosmetics and soap making, upcycling in general, plastic avoidance and climate-friendly nutrition.
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2 comments
Hello Ladies,
A lovely website, so creative & well done. I don’t use T shirts or knits, so I won’t be making these, but can still admire your Creativity! I note you’re speaking from Germany, so may I please offer a small correction of your English? (I have some fabric designs on Spoonflower myself as “little_karen” ).
In English we would say 9.5 million TONS (not TONNES), I am just correcting your English, I hope you don’t mind. As I quickly scanned through your content, it looks otherwise perfect!
Thanks, Karen! Glad to hear you like this post!
“Tonnes” is actually the correct Canadian spelling of “tonne” (also the correct Canadian spelling) in the plural! This graphic is from a fashion initiative at Humber College in Canada, thus is correct!
(Also, I learned this while double checking that was right: “In American English, a ton is a unit of measurement equaling 2,000 pounds. In non-U.S. measurements, a ton equals 2,240 pounds. A tonne, also known as a metric ton, is a unit of mass equaling 1,000 kilograms.” So a “ton” and a “tonne” are actually different weights! Neat! See more here: https://grammarist.com/spelling/ton-tonne/)
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower