DIY: Upcycled T-Shirt Scarf

Hello Curious Readers!

So it was just a typical evening here at Curious HQ, the boy was playing on the computer while I was vegging in front on my laptop with comedy shows (Two and a half men *cries*, Family Guy etc) playing on the tv in the background. The internet is a constant source of inspiration to me and it is always the first place I go to for advice when no one else is around, it is my doctor (probably a bad idea!), my confidant and my main source of communication with long distance friends. On awesome occasions, it provides me with good blog fodder and last night was no exception!

While poking around on Pinterest (my beloved pinterest!) I found the best DIY T-Shirt Scarf tutorial courtesy of the amazing people at Shwin&Shwin, I recommend you check them out!
So in the spirit of upcycling rather than buying new, here is my attempt at this tutorial, in typical step by step fashion of course!

Step 1: Get your unwanted t-shirt and lay it out flat. (I must admit I was rubbish at keeping it flat, consequently my scarf is a bit ragged but I like it!). Mine was an old fair trade t-shirt from Topshop...you know that t-shirt that, although nice, never seems to fit right? That's this t-shirt :)

Step 2: Starting at the bottom, cut 1-inch wide rings . I included the hem, otherwise it's just wasted material and according to Shwin&Shwin you should get approximately 16 rings...I got 13 but I think my problem was that the top was a V-Neck so I missed out on a lot of material there!

Ragged top (I am bad with scissors haha) and my first loop cut from the bottom.

Step 3: Stretch out each ring and wrap it around your hand 2-4 times. The more times you wrap, the shorter and thicker your scarf will be.

Creepy picture where apparently I have no thumb...I do but I was trying to keep the loop tight to my hand!

Step 4: Carefully remove the ring from your hand and repeat the process for each strip.

Step 5: Cut two inch long strips from the material and use these to tie the loops together, continue doing so until your scarf resembles a paper chain (remember making those as a kid?). You can either tie all the loops together to make a cowl-type scarf or leave it in one long chain so it is like a more traditional scarf.

Your final scarf should look something like this:

Told you mine was a bit raggedy!! Still, I have had people ask where I bought (?!) the scarf so I figure this can be counted as a success! It is great if you are like me and out of sewing supplies or if you just do not like sewing and that old t-shirt has been bugging the hell out of you ;)

Until tomorrow when I can finally upload another tutorial (computer problems mixed with camera problems are oh so much fun!), Please feel free to comment and even provide links to pictures of your own upcycled scarfs. If you want to email them to me then awesome, I will showcase all the pictures later in the week!