Valentine Inspirations…and My Tee Shirt Scarf

I love when I find something online I just HAVE to HAVE. It doesn’t often happen, but when it does…oh man. I’m gung-ho and ready to go.

Take for example this Tee Shirt Scarf I found the tutorial for over on Amanda’s Site. Number One, I LOVE scarves. I can’t get enough of them, and you’ll find me wearing them about 11 months out of the year. Totally transforms a simple jean jacket into a new outfit every day, which make them great for traveling. Throw a few in your carry on, and voila – you have little to carry and lots of changeability.

Number Two, I can’t sew. I love crafty things, but I have no sewing abilities. My mom can sew…and typically, I’ll put her on the plethora of clothing/craft ideas that pop into my head. Not fair to her, of course, but I do have a love of aprons and she’s a whiz at making them. This Tee Shirt Scarf? No Sewing. That I can handle.

Number Three – We are over run with tee shirts in this house. Over. Run. Jon looks like a walking advertisement for Virginia Tech he has so many Hokie Tee Shirts. And he NEVER wants to part with them. But give the shirts a new life? He budged. He donated lots of his tees to my scarf making project. Free Scarf? Yes, please! And believe it or not, he was a great supporter of my crafting!

Now, you can find the full on play by play for how to make this scarf, as well as a LOT of other creative ideas, at Amanda’s. But let me tell you, it’s beyond easy. For the quick and dirty version, here you go…

Tee Shirt Scarf

1 – Find a few old tees you don’t mind cutting up. Be SURE they are regular tees, not the girly stretch tees as those will NOT work. (Don’t ask me how I know this.) Regular old tee shirts are what you need. For the two I made, I chose Grey, Khaki and White, and for the other Dark Pink, White and Grey. (The dark pink looks red, though.)

2- Cut the bottom hem off of the shirt, just above where it’s sewn. Keep it, because it has a purpose.

3- Start cutting strips about an inch of so wide from the shirt. Cut through the whole shirt. Don’t split it, make loops. All around the body of the shirt, all the way up to the arm holes. From a man’s shirt, I got about 12-14 loops, from the women’s, about 10. All told, you need about 32 loops.

4 – Once all of your loops are made, pick each one up and give it a good stretch. This causes the loop to twist on itself. If your Tee has writing on it, just turn the shirt inside out before cutting it, and you’ll never see the writing, as it will disappear once the shirt has been stretched.

5 – Take your stretched loops and twist each one around your hand, making a tight little bundle/circle. Like this picture…

6 – Now you have all of your parts, so pull out those hems you cut off earlier and snip them into pieces about 4 to 5 inches long. use these to tie each loop to the next. Repeat until you’ve tied them all together.

Wear it! Enjoy it!

Now, perhaps you are even lazier than I am, and you just want some pretty Valentine things. No problem – crafts aren’t for everyone. That’s why there is Etsy! Look at the goodies I found there…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scarves to buy that you don’t have to make…

Flannel with Vintage Buttons, by Mimi’s Whimsy

Another Tee Shirt Scarf, just a little different design, from Megan’s Menagerie

Crocheted Garnet Scarf from Ayca

Red Marshmallow Scarf, from EasyBaby

Do YOU know of a craft project I could get into? Remember, no sewing, cute, girly…or just about anything I can do with my three year old would be great! Seen a Valentine’s Craft I need to know about? Fill me in!

Have a great day everyone!