Alterknits

More sustainable crafting--

Building on the idea of recycling surplus possessions (like old cds and dvds), I have knit a welcome mat out of old t-shirts.

To make one, you simply cut the shirts in a spiral to make one long strip (sort of like when you peel an apple all in one go) and then knit them up on giant needles (I used size 17) in garter stitch. I paired the t-shirt strand with a little mohair yarn to make the rug a bit fuzzier. As you can see, I used green and red t-shirts--and the blue stripes were white t-shirts that I dyed indigo and then cut up.

I got the idea from Alterknits: Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises, which not only has a chapter on knitting with t-shirts but also has a great chapter on making felted bags out of old wool sweaters--which I am very keen to try (but doubt that my old sewing machine will be able to sew over a felted wool sweater....).