DIY T-Shirt Scarf

I was busy gettin’ my craft on in December. As much as cutting up a t-shirt counts as being crafty.

I've had plans to make a t-shirt scarf for a while and decided to make a few as Christmas gifts.

Here was my inspiration:

Original pin

Mine didn't turn out quite as cute (let's be honest, the braiding intimidated me), but I got several compliments on the one I made for myself, so they must not look too terrible.

These were super simple to make, and I made them while watching “Friends.” Win-win situation. Each scarf took about an episode to make.

Here's how it works:

A t-shirt and scissors are all you really need for this if-Ashley-can-do-it-anyone-can project. The bigger the shirt, the longer the scarf will be, so I recommend using XL shirts. Also, be sure to get the ones without side seams. You don't want the unsightly seam to show when you sport your scarf.

After you've chosen your shirt (mine is red, but these terrible pictures make it look pink...), just do this:

I say square-ish because I can't cut a straight line even with a ruler. So I just cut across and hoped for the best. Luckily, you don't have to be precise with this project.

Next, cut your square-ish piece of fabric into 1 1/2" to 2" strips. I could get about 17 strips from each shirt.

You can't really tell from this picture, but the edges of my strips are just as janky and uneven as the edges from the square-ish piece of fabric.

Good thing that after you do the next step you won't even be able to tell.

And that next step would be stretching each strip (I did two at a time) until you've got a loop as long as you want your scarf to be.

I stretched my strips resistance band style. I did a little behind-the-back action, some side-to-side stuff, and whatever else I could think of to stretch the heck outta the strips.

When you've stretched all the strips, set one aside to tie the rest with. Then just gather the remaining loops into a bundle and wrap the set-aside strip around them.

I did this by tying a knot at one end and then wrapping to cover the knot. You want to wrap snugly, but not so tight that you can't weave the other end of the strip underneath the wrap, which is how you finish the scarf.

Yeah, that was a pretty confusing explanation. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can pretty much do that step however you want. And if you're brave/talented enough to attempt the braid, go for it.

Here's what the last couple steps look like:

Ta-da!

This is seriously one of the easiest things I've ever made. I'll probably make one in every color, so you'll see me in these a lot.

If you make a ton because they're so simple, cheap, and cute one, let me know how it goes!