Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Handmade Christmas: T Shirt Scarf

Welcome to the second of 12 Days of Handmade Christmas! Over the next 12 days, I'll be featuring handmade gift ideas that are simple to make and most are under $5! Check back each day for more ideas!

I did a post last year about my love of scarves and am excited our Texas winter is coming and we can finally pull out scarves after a long hot summer and fall! Some of my friends from church and I gathered together recently to make t-shirt scarves- these are super simple, really cute, and if you have extra t-shirts on hand like we did, they are FREE!
We watched an online video and learned how to make three different no-sew t-shirt scarves. The yellow scarf below is literally the torso of a t-shirt. You cut across the shirt below the arms and then cut the bottom hem off. The t-shirt fabric will naturally curl on the edges and your scarf is complete!
Another version of that scarf.... take the long tube you made above and cut it into 2 inch strips like the big red pile below.
You then pull them and they'll curl up to make rolled strips, like a necklace. When you wear 8 of them together, you have a cute scarf! We learned that an XL t-shirt makes a really long scarf and a medium would likely be the perfect length. The finished product of the red scarf is below. It was so long that I was able to fold it over a second time!
The final scarf was our favorite- you cut circles out of your shirt using a 9" plate as your template. Once cut out, you begin cutting the circle in a swirl pattern and then stretch your swirl out.
The ruffled scarves in plum and green are from the paper plate method. The thinner your swirls, the longer your strips. The video recommends gluing two strips together; however, ours were plenty long!
These scarves would make such great gifts and could be made at no cost! Just watch the video and follow the steps- super easy! If you want to make a matching no sew t-shirt flower or a posie pin, you'd have an extra special gift!If you need to buy a new shirt, I bought the red one for $3.97 at Wal-Mart. I am now on the lookout for a kelly green t-shirt- I love the green on black on my friend Lachelle!
All three scarves are modeled here- what is your favorite?