DIY T-Shirt Scarf

I have been wanting to make a T-shirt scarf for a long time, but somehow I just never got around to it...until today!

Another rainy, cool day, stuck inside with nothing to do.  I needed a project (even though I SHOULD be cleaning my house).

I pulled out a couple of old T-shirts that I haven't worn in probably a year or more.  I haven't parted with the purple one yet just because I bought it and then only wore it once or twice.  I felt a little bad about just getting rid of it.  The orange one I have had for probably 6 years!  It is the softest thing in my closet, but is has a few holes now, and doesn't fit the way I'd like it to anymore (even when I am not pregnant, obviously).

So this is what we started with!

The first scarf I made, with the purple shirt, is a fringe infinity scarf.  The first step? Cut the shirt across under the arm pits.  I was going to cut underneath the button detail, but decided to leave part of it for some added interest!  You will also need to cut across the bottom right above the seam...this piece can either be thrown out or saved for another project (I plan on making a headband or headband embellishment with the leftovers of this project).  The cuts don't have to be straight at all!  Just eye it, and do the best you can...but it really does't matter that much.

Step two?  Cut up from the bottom of the shirt about 3-4 inches to make fringe (more or less if you choose).  Each piece of fringe should be about half an inch wide.  Again, not important if the cuts are straight!

Step three? Pull each piece of fringe away from the bulk of the scarf and roll them between your fingers.  This will make them roll up a bit, and makes it look much better, in my opinion.  I didn't get a picture of this step...sorry!

Now all that is left for this scarf is to wear it!  I am a little afraid of fringe, but I am loving this scarf.

AND here is how I made the orange scarf...

Step one? Cut right below the arm pits straight across, just like in the purple scarf tutorial.  Then, cut strips across (about half an inch wide) all the way to the bottom.  You should have a lot of loops of fabric.  The one that is cut from the bottom with the seam on it? Cut it so that it is just a plain strip (not a loop) and set it aside.

Step two? Pick up all the loops at the same time and stretch them out so the roll up.  You should now have something that looks vaguely like the picture above.

Step three? Line up the seams on the loops however you would like them to be.  I just spread them out randomly, but so the would show.  The other option is to try to hide them under the wrap you are about to create.

Step four?  Take that strip you made from the seam on the bottom of the shirt and tie it where ever you would like the wrapped up part of the scarf to go.  The only thing I tried to cover was a seam that still had a piece of the tag under it.

Step five? Wrap that piece of seamed fabric around your loops until you have something that looks like the picture above.  I wrapped it until I was about halfway to the end of that strip and then wrapped back over it again.  Now...just tie the end of the strip to the wrap and weave the end underneath (I used a crochet hook for this, but I am sure you could do it without one if you don't have a crochet hook).

The orange one turned out a little more like a necklace, but I love it.  If you used a mens size shirt I am sure it would be big enough to wrap around twice, more like a scarf.  

You should really give these a try!  I made them both in 30 minutes or less...definitely worth it :)

PS...sorry for the terrible pictures of me wearing them. I could not get a good one with my "real" camera so I opted to use my phone (believe it or not these are better than the ones from my camera).

Hope your rainy day is fantastic!