How To Make Recycled T-Shirt Potholders
- Ms Yuna Salazar
- Aug 21, 2022
- 2 min read
Supplies
Loom and hook (I bought mine at a local craft store for $2.47, but you can also find them here)
T-shirts*
Cloth scissors (Or a pair of regular scissors)
Fabric glue – Optional but recommended (I like Tear Mender because it is made with natural latex. )
* I bought some from our local thrift store that said things like “2007 Men’s Conference” and “Spring 2008 Walk-A-Thon.” It depends on the size, but one large t-shirt should make about one potholder. I opted to use several colors and use the leftover material for other projects.
Instructions
Cut off the hem of the bottom of the t-shirt.
Determine whether the fabric is more stretchy when pulled in one direction or another – some are, while others are equally stretchy in all directions. Cut the t-shirt into strips that are 6 inches long and 2¼-2½ inches wide – the 6 inch length should work with the stretchiness of the fabric.
Strips of Cloth You Never Have On Hand
Fold the fabric in half and cut a 2 inch slit down the center.
Continue cutting the t-shirt into strips until you have enough for the length and width of the loom. You may not need all of them, but it’s good to have everything on hand before you get started. Add your first strip to the loom like this . . .
. . . and continue adding strips until one side is completely full.
To get started on the other side, weave the strips over and under in an alternating fashion. For example, the white strip in the center starts by going over, while the orange strip starts by going under. I used my fingers for this step, but you can use a weaving hood if you prefer. If your t-shirt fabric is exceptionally thick you may find that you need to skip a few pegs to get the right fit. That’s totally fine!
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