T-Shirt Scarves 4 Ways

Here is a non-edible project I've been working on. 

So, It's begininning to look a lot like Christmas (is this worn out yet?) and I am cheap so that leaves me with a dilemma: How to give inexpensive, thoughtful gifts that someone will actually want.

Awhile back a neighbor made me a scarf out of an old t-shirt from a pattern she learned on pinterest. Super cute but far from warm. My family lives in the cold north, north so I wanted to come up with something that would suit their needs and be relatively easy to swing. While there are lots of t-shirt scarves out there, these patterns are new and unique according to my latest research ;)

Materials:

Scissors or rotating cutter/cutting mat

Old T-shirts

Imagination!

No sewing required :)

A note on T-shirt choice. The very, very best kind are the ones with no stitching on the sides. They are basically made out of a tube of fabric. This creates a much more polished finished piece and is easier to work with. That said, stitching is fine and the majority of the shirts I found are sewn together on the sides

So... dig up some old shirts, check out the clearance rack, or visit the thrift store. 

Any size will do. You will just have to adjust how many loops you make with the stretched fabric. 

For All Scarves you will need these three steps.  Once you have this part down move onto your style :)

Step 1:

Cut shirt into strips. Do not use the bottom stitched part.

I like to cut one and give it a stretch to see how skinny it gets and how it stretches then adjust my cut width from there.

Step 2:

Stretch the fabric loops til the sides curl in. 

Note: Some fabric will tear at the seams if you pull too hard so hold at the seam while you stretch the rest. 

Step 3:

Linking the fabric strips. I call it a loop linker which is basically a square knot but the string has no open end. Every single pattern uses this knot so get comfy with it.

-Take two loops placing one on top of the other.  I will refer to the colors above. 

-From the left, gently pull the orange part under the yellow and on the right, gently pull yellow part over the orange. 

-Keep pulling one through the other. If they do not link, try again. 

You should have something that looks like the middle picture above. 

The third pic is also good. Just adjust your strings to get them to lay how you want. 

We will use both versions. 

4 Strand Braid

1. Choose an end loop color and loop it 2-4 times depending on fabric. (Mine is looped 3 times) to get the length I want to remain on the sides after the other strands are tied on.

2. Now using the knot above from the second picture, loop your 4 chosen colors around the end loop. 

Order doesn't matter.

Here is a pic from an 8 string so you get the idea. Notice the navy strands around my toes are looped three times then cinched in place by using the link knot (second pic) to secure my chosen color strands. Remember to leave even space on each side.
The navy around my toes will serve a purpose at the end so be sure it has a big enough opening to fit the girth of the scarf through the middle.

yep. those are my toes.

3. Begin Braid with just those 4 fabric loops. Don't worry that it is not long enough. 

4. As you run out  of length, link on another loop of the same color fabric using the knot above. For this one we want the end result to look like the top pic in the linking know tutorial. Keep braiding and adding links only as you run out of a particular color otherwise you will have an annoying amount of loose string to work with.  

5. Ending. This is the most challenging and fun part. Your pieces will not run out at the same time. When the scarf is about as long as you want it and you are coming to the end of some loops, it is a good place to stop. You have to stop at a place where at least a couple loops  are at their end in order to avoid messy cutting and tying. Since we have loops this part is kinda fun because loops tuck into one another. 

-When one piece runs out tuck another loop through it. This will secure the piece and prevent unraveling. Keep tucking and looping.

-When it gets down to the end you can make a few remaining fabric strands as even as possible (by tucking and weaving) and use these as the end loops.  Or you can keep weaving and looping them until you have just 2-3 small tails, then use those to anchor a new piece of looped fabric to serve as the end loop. 

See Pics :)  This is an art, not a science. You can do it!!!

Super hard to see here. But notice the two navy are the longest. This is what I am using for the end loops. 

6, 8 or 10 Strand Braid

1. Choose an end loop color and loop it 2-4 times depending on fabric. (Mine is looped 3 times). See pic in 4 string tutorial.

2. Now using the knot above from the third pic in the link tutorial, loop your chosen colors around the end loop. 

- You want to use half as many colors as loops to get a balanced result. 6 String=3 Colors etc. 

Order matters. Put them on the end loops like this: ABCCBA or ABCDDCBA etc. 

3. Begin Braid. Here is the video I used to teach me how. The video is for 6 strands but the same concept can be applied to an even number of strands.  Don't worry that your strands are not long enough for the whole scarf at this point.

4. As you run out  of length, link on another loop of the same color fabric using the link knot. For this one we want the end result to look like the 2nd pic in the link knot tutorial. Keep braiding and then adding links only as you run out of a particular color otherwise you will have an annoying amount of loose string.  

5. Ending. See Step 5 in 4 String Braid. 

Chunky Loop Scarf 

(this one is my favorite)

1. Pick your colors. I like to use three but you can use any number of colors you want. Or even make this your last scarf with all the leftovers.

2. Figure out how many times you need to loop each of the different fabrics to get links that are about the same length.

3. For the very first link (navy in the pic) figure out how many times you need to loop it to leave a tail length consistent with your other links. Note in the first pic, the navy circle is smaller than the yellow.  This is so they will end up about even by pic three. Work your magic!

4. Follow the steps in the pics.  And keep going 'til your scarf is as long as you want it. **Check out the two finished scarves above. One is like a figure 8 and one is open. They are both made with the same design and are the same length.

I use the end loops to create 2 circles so that I can put the scarf over my head like a necklace. You could even make it long enough for 3 or 4 circles. This style leaves no loose ends hanging around, ends up looking like an infinity scarf and keeps my neck nice and cozy.
OR
Leave it a long chain and wear it countless other ways either as a traditional scarf  with loose ends or by using the loops to connect and reconnect it in front.  Be creative!!

5. Ending. Finish your piece just as you began by using a link knot to cinch the two sides of your last link together. Remember to adjust the number of loops you use on this piece to keep the look of continuity.

Enjoy!!

Link Lock Scarf

This is by far the easiest but also the least warm of all the scarves. To me it looks like a fashion scarf rather than a functional scarf. To each their own. 

1. Pick your colors and link away. The steps are the same from beginning to end. Stop when you have the length you want.


Here are some other variations.
The one on the left simply incorporates a third color at the very end by twisting it around and periodically ticking it through openings in the scarf. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet.

Hope you enjoy and stay warm and stylish this winter.

Please let me know if you have questions :)