T-Shirt Yarn, part 2: Cutting T-Shirts to Make Yarn

Part 1 of this series demonstrated dyeing t-shirts.  Once the t-shirts are dry, it is time to cut them into yarn.

T-Shirt Yarn, part 1: Dyeing to Get the Color You Want

A few years ago I heard about t-shirt yarn, and I started saving old t-shirts.  After a while, I noticed that my collection of homemade t-shirt yarn wasn't living up to my color expectations.  More than half was plain white, and of the colored yarn, most were dark colors.

I asked my husband if he could start buying colorful undershirts instead of white.  Since that wasn't a possibility, I got the idea to dye some of them.  This post will explain how to dye the t-shirts, and part 2 will demonstrate how to cut a dyed t-shirt into one long, continuous strip of yarn.

How to Make Plarn

One knitting/crocheting material that is growing in popularity right now is plarn (plastic yarn).  Plarn is made from shopping bags, something that we all have too much of in our homes.  Some of the common items that crafters are using plarn for include rugs, sleeping mats for the homeless, bags, and baskets.

The Bleach Test

I recently acquired some partially-used yarn with no label.  There are two different ways to find out what the fiber content of mystery yarn is: the bleach test and the burn test.  While the bleach test can only tell you if your yarn is natural or synthetic, I have read that the burn test can actually narrow down the specific type of fiber, based on how the yarn smells and smokes when you burn it.  Unfortunately, I don't have a backyard in which to do the burn test, and I don't want my kids to see me making fire inside.  They might get ideas...

The bleach test is very simple.  If the yarn dissolves in the bleach, then you know it is a natural fiber.  If it doesn't dissolve at all, then you know it is a synthetic.  If only part of your yarn dissolves, then it is probably some sort of blend.

Mending and Blocking An Estonian Shawl

About four years ago I made the Queen Silvia shawl from Nancy Bush's book Knitted Lace of Estonia.  I loved working on it, and it turned out beautifully, but I hadn't washed it since then.  I recently soaked it in some woolwash (by hand, in my tub) and then re-blocked it.

 
During the blocking process, I discovered a hole.  Because it was in garter stitch, the hole looked bigger than it actually was.  Only one row had unravelled so far, across three stitches.  I started by picking up all the loose stitches on stitch markers.

A Lace Gauge Swatch

After the wonderful experience I had with blocking my Queen Silvia shawl, I was eager to being my next lace project: the Triangular Summer Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia.  I decided that this time I would make a gauge swatch and block it before I began my shawl.  I had made gauge swatches before, but I had never blocked one because I was always too impatient to begin my project.  I figured that since everyone recommends it, it must be important.

A New Appreciation for Blocking

In January I talked about my Queen Silvia lace shawl.  I had to set it aside for a month to work on the baby blanket, but I finally finished it.  I had heard that blocking is essential for knitting lace.  Before I had always blocked rather half-heartedly because it usually didn't seem to do much.  However, after reading some blogs and watching videos on the subject I realized that I was not getting my finished items wet enough.  I also learned that blocking wires make it a lot easier to block lace, so I used my money from the baby blanket sale to buy some blocking wires.

Resizing My Slanting Gretel Tee

In April I started knitting the Slanting Gretel Tee from the Fall 2009 edition of Interweave Knits Magazine.  I love the design of this sweater and have enjoyed working on it.  However, due to some sizing problems, it has taken a lot longer than I planned.