After dreaming about t-shirt rugs (literally!), Jackie from Blessings Overflowing shares at The Happy Housewife how she finally devoted the time to making her own soft, shaggy recycled rug.
Jackie made her rug by cutting her old shirts and pants into strips and then sewing them in rows on an old hand towel. Jackie suggests dying white-shirts if you want a monochromatic rug. I would also love to see one made with lots of brightly colored t-shirts for an extra fun spin.
Find the tutorial at The Happy Housewife.
Thanks so much for featuring my tutorial. It was a fun project!
What a great idea!! And we have a ton of old/too small t-shirts on hand!! Ones that we have been saving because of sentimental value… now I can use the fronts to make a t-shirt quilt and the rest of the shirts to make a coordinating rug! I’ll send pictures when its done if you want.
I made a T-shirt quilt a couple of years ago for my husband and he loved it. Have fun making yours and a rug to match!
I can tell you first hand that these take FOREVER to make but are super cute. I did mine with a pillow case for the backing, but a towel is a great idea. http://monkeyseemonkeydo-jennifer.blogspot.com/2011/10/repurposed-t-shirt-shag-mat-tutorial.html
Not sure my sewing machine would’ve handled the thickness of a towel as well as a pillow case, though.
I didn’t think this method took too long. I imagine it would have taken a lot longer to do the latch hook method. My machine seemed to handle the towel and T-shirt strips just fine.
I had never seen anyone make a T-shirt rug like I did. How interesting that you used a pillow case and such a similar method. I thought it was very fun and hope to make more soon.
Thanks for this idea for a project. I like the idea of Jennifer’s about taking cheap t-shirts and making the fronts into a quilt and a rug to match. How long did you cut your strips? and do they just curl after being sewn?
Amelia, I cut the strips at 1 inch x 4 inches. They strips curl after being washed, but end up laying flat again after you step on it a few times. Be sure to click on the link above to find out all of the details.