T-Shirt left-overs?
 

I have just finished a t-shirt quilt for my granddaughter and I have a pile of assorted sized pieces of left-overs. Does anyone have any really good suggestions as to what to do with them beside rags? I have cut some into strips, tied them together and rolled them into a ball, thinking I might crochet a rug but it sure would be lumpy with those knots. I have looked on Pinterest and they have come up with scarves but I know of no one that would wear them. Any ideas?

i think i would braid them, perhaps for a rug, or, if small, a 'coaster' for under pottery and such

I've crocheted them into durable rag rugs. Instead of knotting the pieces together, I lay the end pieces one overlapping the other and take a quick stitch, either by hand or machine. But I saw a tutorial on youtube that showed how to put a slit in each end of the pieces and join them, making a flat join. I've not tried it yet ... just have not had enough t-shirts.
Your GD's quilt turned out beautiful!

Nicely done quilt! I like that you plan to use the remaining tee shirt piece in another project. I would make a rug like others are suggesting. Thanks for sharing!

First, I love the quilting you did on that T-shirt quilt. Makes the whole thing look fabulous! I've made 2 Tshirt quilts and they didn't look nearly as nice. Anyway, I used the leftover T-shirt/sweatshirt fabric to make small toys. Rugs are not something we've ever used due to tripping hazard for disabled family members. If you have already made them into strips, other than rugs and placemats, I can't think of what else you could make with them.

Here's a video showing how to join pieces by cutting a slit in each end of the strips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN1Nt9SAcRw

I don't have much of an answer other than I have made memory bears with Tee's as the fabric is quite soft. The rugs sound like a great idea if you have enough... But what I really want to say is I do love your quilt!!

Thanks everyone! The slits work wonders compared to the knots! A little more tedious but alot easier to control.
Thanks for the compliments on the quilt also!!

Your quilt is wonderful!

The quilt is great! I love everyone's ideas about T-shirt yarn, too bad I can't knit. I'm left handed and don't seem to have a talent for knitting or crocheting.

i've seen the scraps cut up and used to make a shaggy rug.

Your quilt is awesome. The strips would be good for a rug, like you said. Weavers can use them too. If they were cut into squares you could make another solid t-shirt quilt and I bet that would look nice too.

I have seen the cutest things made out of "old" parts of t-shirts: scarves, cute little skirts for girls, pants (long legging-type and shorts), other shirts, hats, head bands. They are sewn together in pieces to make whatever. They look like stripes or blocks of different colors. They are so soft, cute and wearable! I wish I had a picture of one but I don't; sorry.

if you draw lines on a piece of fabric (anything really), and sew a strip of tshirt to the line, in the center of the tshirt piece. go all the way down the line, as close as you want. sweep them to one side, and move to the next line -- I think I did mine about an inch apart . . . it makes a rag rug, and it is so easy! you can make the 'shag' as loose or as tightly woven as you'd like. I used an ugly rug, and 're-covered' it!

the quilt is gorgeous, as mentioned! =)

Thanks guys!! What a wonderful response. It is really amazing how many things can be done with a few used t-shirts .

Here is a trick, cut off the knots, then take the ends of each piece, fold it over so you have about an inch folded back and cut a small slit into the center of the cut so basically it looks like a button hole in the end of the strip. Then slide one cut end through the hole and pull the long end through to catch the fabric and pull. it's a quick way to attach the strips without the bulk of the knot. Now, you are ready to crochet or you can braid and zig zag the braids together to create a rug. Or, you can make a simple rug frame by nailing some wood together into a frame the size of the quilt. Wrap the warp with heaving cord or Peaches and Cream cotton yarn and braid down the cords to make a quick rug. There are so many possibilities! Search Youtube for videos! I wish I had your stash of teeshirt scraps! How fun!

I always gave them to a neighbor who professionally cleaned houses. I was just delighted to recycle them and get them out of my home!!

I really like the layout and quilting you did. This is a real pretty quilt. I don't know if you do machine embroider or not but you can make another quilt using the backs and sleeves and left-over pieces for another quilt.

I just saw a tutorial on facebook - divide the strips (about 20+) into 3 groups, braid the groups, tie ends together with another strip, you have a "scarf", use fewer pcs and you have a soft necklace.

Make a scarf! Piece it.
sandy

weave them into a rug

I love how you made this quilt! Silly question, but, how did you do this with the different sized pieces? I am making one for my sil, who has a definite size in mind and wants to get the most tshirts possible in it, so I want to cut them no larger than they have to be, with sashing in between like you have. Thanks for any help!

I too had some left-over strips from T-shirts and did not want to toss them out. I ended up joining them into one long strip (there are several videos on the Internet), rolled it into a large ball and then crocheted it into a "bowl" type of container. I don't have a picture to send, but basically I started out crocheting a round center and then added some stitches as I crocheted around to make a base. Then I just continued with the same number of stitches until I ran out of T-shirt "yarn". It ended up kind of cute and I use it to store my music CD's in my sewing room. It's nice and soft. It's about 4" tall and 6" in diameter. Based on your picture...I'd recommend you use maybe 2 strips of the T-shirt "yarn" to do the crocheting.

I knew a gal who made a hook rug out of them but she said it took forever to dry and abandoned it (she was going to use it as bathroom throw rug). I use mine to tie up tomato plants in my garden in the summer. they work great for that.

I just finished teaching two classes on the tee shirt quilt. I had a LOT of leftovers. One quilter told me that a local quilt shop takes the scraps and donates them to the animal shelter. They use them to make dog beds out of them (I'm not sure if the LQS makes the dog beds or if the animal shelter makes them). She said that when a dog leaves the shelter they throw the bed away. Thus, they need lots of beds. I'm taking my scraps to her next week.

I. Saw a diy project where they used strips of old towels, looked like 1/2 by 4 inchs. they then used a square grid and tied each strip on each side of the square. made it a shag rug. those mats you get to put under a rug to keep it from moving around would work and a shag rug is real popular with younger kids.