That T-Shirt Scarf Everyone’s Talking About…

So Tara at Fabulous But Evil posted about a t-shirt scarf she made. She found inspiration from The Fuschia News. She linked to this tutorial at etté studios. I considered and used tips from all of these, and am adding my tips in here!

I made my green and gray scarves from $3 clearance shirts at Meijer- men’s XXL. But for my third shirt scarf, I looked in my own closet.

Shirt that your husband has owned for at least six years? That is now full of holes? Check.

PS- the holes were 95% in the armpits. There were a few teensy ones that I could cut strategically through elsewhere on the shirt.

Once you have your shirt, here are the easy steps:

1. Lay your shirt out on a flat surface.
2. Cut the bottom hem off of the shirt.
3. Cut strips, starting at the bottom, all the way up through the armpits.
4. Stretch out the circular strips until they won’t stretch any more. Bind them with the hem you cut off.

So I totally just way simplified that! All shirts/results are different. I liked the look/feel best of 3/4 inch – 1 inch cut strips (pre-stretch.) If your shirt is higher quality, they won’t have side seams (like the super old Ralph Lauren shirt pictured.) If they do have side seams, you will want to bind the strips twice, once at each side to cover the seams, since you can see them pretty obviously when the shirt strips are stretched.

I tried one shirt with a braid, and I felt it was kind of awkward. I might need to play around with it more.

The two of the three that I liked were bound so that they were a big circle, and I had to double them up on my neck- like an infinity scarf. I think they sit better when you wear them that way.

I am having the worst time articulating these tips. Just fly to Indiana if you want me to explain to you in person- k thanx.

Here they are:

• Left: B’s old shirt, one long scarf doubled up on my neck.
• Middle: Clearance tee with braid, doubled and bound.
• Right: Clearance tee, one long scarf, doubled up on my neck.

And here they are more up close… you can see how the braid one doesn’t lay right.

If I cut the green one’s strips smaller, it would have come out much better. Also, because it was a cheap shirt, it had side seams so I needed to bind it on both sides. It’s still one giant loop but that makes it a little clunkier on the back of my neck.

Overall, the blue-gray one is my fave, followed closely by the green. I’m kind of eh about the gray braid one and haven’t worn it yet. I spend too long fixing it when it’s on!

What is your favorite? How would you make your scarf necklace? I require you people to share yours when you make them (you will, trust me) and feel free to comment/tweet me with your questions, if you have them!