Tutorial: Upcycled T-shirt Rug

If you have a mountain of t-shirt scraps like me, and you hate throwing said scraps away (also me), then you’re probably always on the look-out for projects that use those scraps. This rug tutorial from Family Fun is just that.

I’ve seen other t-shirt rugs and t-shirt rug tutorials (most of which involved crocheting, which I don’t really know how to do), but this is definitely the coolest one I’ve seen. Using a hula hoop as a frame, the t-shirts are woven together. No sewing, knitting, or crocheting. Anyone with a hula hoop and some t-shirt scraps can do it!

I’ve stopped buying textile rugs because my cat has some sort of Rug Radar when he pukes. Plus, they’re a pain to keep clean. But I think one of these t-shirt rugs would make a perfect bath mat. Plus, once the rug gets funky, you can toss it out and make a new one!

Click here for the full tutorial.

How to Turn a Regular T-shirt into a Henley Tee

This is a quick way to give a plain tee or tank a little upgrade! The best part is, you don’t have to screw around with buttonholes because that part has been done for you already!

If you’re looking at me funny and wondering WTF a henley shirt is, it’s a shirt with a partial button placket down the front. Like our finished project here:

Difficulty:

 

Things you’ll need for this tutorial:

  • scissors
  • sewing machine (or needle and thread, if you’re old school and mega patient like that)
  • a t-shirt or tank (you can make your own, if you like)
  • the button placket from another shirt


Step 1

Gather your materials. Here I’ve got my henley and my fabric, with which I will make a basic tee.

I happened to have a a henley shirt that I cut up a while ago to make a pattern. This is why I can never throw things away… I knew it would come in handy!

If you don’t have a henley style shirt, you can use a button placket from any shirt, really. A full buttondown will work just fine for this, you just need to trim it to the length you want. I think a plaid button placket would look super cute on a plain tee!

If you’ve searched your closets high and low and don’t have a button placket handy, there’s a really great tutorial for making a henley tee here.

Step 1


The cute button print fabric I used in this tutorial is from Purple Seamstress Fabrics.

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