Splish-splash, Bath mat! and DIY crafts

Despite March technically being the first month of spring, it’s still freezing here in PA. One of the coldest spots in my house is the tile floor right in front of my bathroom sink. I had a thin, worn out blue bathmat that wasn’t doing anything to keep the chill away. I also happened to have a stash of 3XL t-shirts left over from some event or other. I decided to do away with ol’ blue, and make myself a spankin’ new bathmat with the t-shirts! If you want to knit up one of your own, read on!

Materials:

1. Lots of t-shirts
   
   
   
   • I used 5 3XLs plus a small for the trim, but if I’d had more, I’d have used more and made my mat a bit bigger and neater
   
   
   • You want all your t-shirts to be of similar weight and stretch, or you’ll wind up with a really wonky mat
   
   
   
   


2. Scissors and/or a rotary cutter


3. size 13 knitting needles
   
   
   
   • gauge isn’t too important, so feel free to go up or down a few sizes as needed
   
   
   
   

Procedure:

1. Cut your t-shirt all the way across just under the arms.


2. Make long horizontal cuts about every one inch down the shirt. Do NOT cut all the way across!


3. Pick up the shirt and drape it around your arm so the uncut side rests on top. Cut diagonally up the uncut “spine,” as shown below:


4. Repeat with each t-shirt.


5. Once all your shirts are strips, join the ends with a knot or a few quick stitches and roll up into a ball for easy working.


6. Cast on about 30 stitches.


7. Knit in garter stitch until your mat is as long as you want.

Ta DA! Your new bathmat is super squishy and comfy and warm and absorbent.

Tips and suggestions:

• If you run out of t-shirt yarn from the main part of the shirt, you can use the same cutting techniques on the sleeves, and then you can cut straight strips from what’s left between the sleeves.


• Keep in mind that if your knots are bulky, or you have a lot of them (like, say, if you join a bunch of short strips), your bathmat will be thicker and wider.
  
  
  
  • I learned this the hard way. If you look at my mat, the right side is skinnier, because it’s made of the long pieces. When I switch to the short strips from the arms, it gets bulky and widens.
  
  
  
  


• As you work, the t-shirt yarn will roll in on itself. Watch the way it folds and manipulate it to hide, or show, logos/print on the shirt

from diy « WordPress.com Tag Feed http://ift.tt/18dHlZm

from jammco.us and http://ift.tt/1COg4GQ