Tee-cycled Necklace Project

For Christmas I finally finished sewing a t-shirt quilt for my mom that I had been working on for months. In the aftermath of December's craftapalooza I had a stack of cut up t-shirts sitting in our den ripe for an upcycling project. After seeing t-shirt necklaces all over the web, I decided to give making one a shot.

This project is easy-peasy, you need at least one t-shirt (seamless Ts seem to work best), a pair of fabric scissors and a flat surface to work on. Start by cutting the bottom seam off the t-shirt, as it won't stretch or roll. Once the seam is removed, cut the tshirts into 1/2" strips.


Cut as many strips as you like, but 5 or 6 works well. Now its time to bend and snap like Elle Woods. Bend one strip around the outside of your hands and give it a few good stretches and snaps until it rolls onto itself making a nice tubular loop like so:


If you used a tshirt with seams, match your seams up and tie them together with a scrap piece of fabric. If you used a seamless shirt, tie the loops together in a spot of your choosing. For a little something extra, cut three of your strips in half, braid them together and add them to your rolled loops before tying everything together.

Once you get the hang of it you can create! create! create! I really liked playing with braided pieces and some lucite beads I had hanging around. You can also use the sleeves to make smaller loops for a smaller necklace or a bracelet, I've tried both! Happy crafting kids!