While the results are awesome and the projects work up quickly because the yarn is so big, the t-shirt yarn can be a little difficult to work. You’d think (being made out of t-shirts) that the yarn would be stretchy and easy to work with, but it’s pretty firm and can strain your body if you work with it too long in one sitting. Here are some tips to make working with t-shirt yarn a little easier.
Always Use Large Needles
Use knitting needles that are even larger than you think would make sense. Unless your yarn is very fine, a needle in a range of size 11 U.S. (8 mm) and up will work best for you.
Try Plastic or Metal Needles
Needles that are a little slippery can be helpful for working the stitches more easily and evenly with t-shirt yarn. Some knitters use plastic circular needles, even when working flat.
Take Your Time
When projects (like making a t-shirt bag) get big, they can put a lot of strain on your body, even when working with circular needles, just because they are so heavy. T-shirt yarn is a lot heavier than the same amount of regular yarn would be, and holding all that weight does take some strength. Take it slow and rest often if you’re feeling sore.
Try Not to Stretch
Cotton t-shirts are meant to be stretchy, but the less you pull on and stretch the yarn as you work, the better off you’ll be in terms of getting an even tension and having stitches that don’t look distorted.
Don’t Worry About Perfection
On the other hand, it’s difficult to cut numerous shirts so that they make yarn that’s the same width (unless you use a rotary cutter and a ruler), so there are naturally going to be variations throughout your project. You’ll probably also run out of yarn in the middle of a row and have to change colors. That’s fine. It all adds to the organic look of a recycled knitting project. If you’re making your yarn, try to use seamless shirts. It’s not a huge deal, but the side seams in a shirt add bulk to your yarn, and sometimes you’ll see the seam in your finished project, which might detract from its appearance.
Using Plain or Printed T-Shirts
You’re probably inclined to choose plain colored shirts or shirts with logos and only using the part without printing. But it can also be fun to use shirts with a print or even shirts with stripes. Especially since T-shirt yarn projects tend to have a scrappy look naturally, they don’t have to match.
Deciding What to Knit
You might have decided to make the t-shirt yarn simply to recycle shirts, but now you wonder what project to use it with. A great idea is to check out projects on Ravelry for inspiration. There are projects for hot pads, washcloths, hats, bags, bibs, and bowls.
