PROJECT PREP OF THE WEEK - T-SHIRT YARN

T's from two

Spring cleaning fever has hit HML HQ and as a result wardrobes are getting the once over. Of course many things will be handed down, sent to op-shops or remade into other wearable items, after all waste not want not is one of our motto's. However anything else is fair game for repurposing into craft materials.Now while at Chez Barry the falling apart band t-shirt is still sacrosanct, at la casa Jobson we have the in house architect ensuring that no nostalgia gets in the way of our clear surfaces. As a result I have had to deviously come up with a solution that keeps both of us happy. The answer - T-shirt Craft.

So far I've made plant hangers, woven baskets and jewellery from t-shirts that have been dyed, shredded, knotted, cut and sewn, and at the moment i'm slowly transferring our old t-shirts into balls of t-shirt yarn for an upcoming mega project. To be honest its a great busy hand exercise to validate watching dodgy TV - I whipped up the batch above while watching seventies Sci-fi Michael Caine 'masterpiece' The Swarm. Which by the way I highly recommend - next batch is planned for a visit back to Logans Run... and yes there is definately a pattern emerging here.

While I might not be racing to make Michael his own hilariously seasonal man-shirt I have been kind of inspired after wading through Pinterest recently, as it appears there's just about nothing peeps haven't had a crack at whipping up out of a recycled t-shirt (mega structures and computer technology notwithstanding). Some one should write a book about it. Oh hang on... 

Forgiving, stretchy, non- fraying and cheap (unless you've a laid down one hundred big ones on the 'Kanye') in many ways it's the perfect beginners up-cycling material. Have a go yourself or if you have neither the time, raw materials or inclination to make your own you can always buy pre made recycled yarn! BECK