Tarmation Rectangle Rug
by Amanda Steves
Skill Level Easy
Yarn 1/2"/1cm-width tarn (not stretched) made from 5-10 adult-sized t-shirts Additional Materials crochet hook: N/10mm hand-sewing needle & thread Approximate Finished Measurements 20"/51cm x 30"/76.5cm Approximate Gauge 10 st x 10 rows = 4.5"x4.5" /11.5cmx11.5cm in sc-back loops Got t-shirts?? This easy-to-make crocheted rug is made from t-shirts that have been cut into tarn (T-shirt yARN) -- a great way to recycle old cotton-knit garments and get a good-looking, highuse item in exchange. Your rug can be as large or small as you wish. The number of shirts to use depends on the sizes of the shirts and how large you want to make it. Machine washable and dryable, it's an excellent rug for kitchen, bath, utility, or entry.
How to Make Tarn (T-shirt yARN)
1. Collect your t-shirts or other cotton-knit garments to be used. For best results, use items from the same manufacturer's line. Variations in fabric content and thickness can make your project uneven. Sometimes that adds interest, but the finished product will not be as uniform, especially after washing. 2. Cut the hem off the bottom of the t-shirt. If the shirt has side seams, cut all the seams off the front or back section. 3. Cut diagonally into the hemless bottom of the shirt until you have a 1/2"/1cm -wide strip started. This will give you a tapered end, for the needle-and-thread method of connecting strips in step 7. The ends are tapered to avoid tarn that is too bulky at the point of overlap. 4. Tube spiral: If the shirt does not have side seams, you can continue cutting the tarn strip, spiralling up to where the sleeves are attached. Taper-off the end, like the start of the strip. 5. Flat spiral: If the shirt has side seams, continue cutting the tarn across the bottom, up the side, across the sleeve and collar edges, and down the other side. When you get to where you started, angle your cut upward so you can keep going in a flat spiral. Since tarn is stretchy, it's forgiving at the corners, but you can round them off a little by trimming the points. (Save the scraps for stuffing toys, etc.) Taper-off the width when you come to the end. 6. Cut the seams/collar/sleeve hems off any remaining shirt fabric, and cut more strips using the Flat Spiral method in step 5. 7. Connecting strips: Overlap the tapered ends by about 1'/2.5cm. With a needle and thread, hand-sew 6-7 stitches straight up the middle. Backstitch works well for this. 8. WARNING: Don't cut tarn across the shirt seams. The seam stitches will not hold your tarn together, especially in the wash.
Pattern Notes
·U.S. crochet terms Unstretched tarn was used for the rug pictured. If you prefer, you can use stretched tarn instead, but the gauge and the rug's surface texture may be different. Gauge with tarn can be very hard to pin down. It may vary when going from one shirt to another, or tube-spiral cut to flat-spiral cut. For that reason, the rug dimensions and gauge in this pattern are approximate. You can measure the length of your rug after several rows, to get a better idea of how it's working up, and you might want to have a few extra shirts on hand in case you need to add more rows. As you step on the finished rug, especially after laundering, the rows flatten a bit, increasing the width by a small amount. This pattern makes use of sc-bl: single crochet worked only in the base stitch's back loop (bl) instead of both loops. It produces a flexible rug fabric that dries faster after washing. Care for this rug is easy: machine wash and dry. It should hold its shape and size fairly well, depending upon the t-shirt fabric used for the tarn. However, after washing, when it's still wet, it will be stretchy and out of shape. Machine drying corrects this. Please note: if you don't have a dryer, consider using regular single-crochet for this rug. The foundation chain runs down the long side of the rug. You can rotate it, so the foundation chain is on the short side, but it will make the rug less stable in holding its shape after machine washing and drying. If this happens, stretch the rug side-to-side with your hands grasping the row ends, and the stitches will “even" themselves up. ·A variegated color pattern can be produced by starting with a large section of one color and interspersing successive colors alternately. The rug pictured was made from 6 t-shirts (adult size medium) in the following order: brown body + top front + sleeve, white top front, brown top back, white sleeve, brown sleeve, white body, gray top front, white top back, gray sleeve, white sleeve, gray body, offwhite top front, gray top back, offwhite sleeve, gray sleeve, offwhite body, tan top front, offwhite top back, tan sleeve, offwhite sleeve, tan body, black top front, tan top back, black sleeve, tan sleeve, black body + top back + sleeve.
Rug Instructions
Foundation Chain: Chain 76. R1: Starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc across foundation chain (75 sts). R2: Turn, ch1, starting in 2nd loop from hook, sc-bl across (75 sts). Repeat R2 41 more times, or to desired size. Last Row: Repeat R2 a little tighter for a neat edge. Tie off and work in ends.
Stitch Abbreviations ch chain stitch Sc single crochet sc-bl single crochet back lop only The rug pictured below was made from 5 flat-spiral-cut cotton knit turtleneck shirts (women’s size small) in the following order: black shirt front & back, white neck, black sleeve, white sleeve, black sleeve, white front, black neck, white back, blue sleeve, white sleeve, blue front & back, green sleeve, blue sleeve, green front, blue neck, green back, white sleeve, green sleeve, white front, green neck, white back, green sleeve, white sleeve & neck.
Check my blog for tips and variations on this pattern. http://amandashappyhearth.blogspot.com/
