Summer is coming to an end, and while I didn't have a chance to actually crochet or knit with rags, as I have in past years, I did spend some time making yarn from old sheets and pillowcases, so now I have some supplies on hand! I have showed you examples of my rag balls quite a few times in the past, but I figured I can't share this one enough, as it is one of my favorites!
With the exception of the ball of rag yarn I made (foreground) from that old hello kitty sheet that had been hanging around for too long, the resulting rag yarn is a bit lacking as far as colors that I prefer to work with, but one can never have too many balls of rag yarn, as once a rug is underway, some more "yarn" no matter what the color is always appreciated!
How To Make Yarn From Sheets And Pillowcases:
- Raid your linen closet, or the attic in my case, and find some linens that have seen better days.
- Make rag yarn from pillowcases by simply cutting off the closed end and the end that may be doubled over, and then starting at one of the openings, simple cut a spiral around and around, making sure to keep the width as even as possible. Roll into a small ball and voila!
- To make rag yarn from sheets, either flat or fitter, remove seams and elastic, and then starting at one edge either cut around the perimeter, making a flat spiral, or tear from corner to corner. Once you reach the middle of the sheet, you will likely have to cut strips, which can be attached by sewing them together or with my preferred method of cutting slits in each end and passing one strip through the other as follows:
- Join strips by cutting small slits in each end and then joining with slip knot. (Pull strip A through strip B just a bit, and then pull the long end of strip A through itself. To attach a prepared ball to work in progress you'll need to make a slit big enough to slip the whole ball through, but this gets lost in the crocheting, so don't worry.
That is really it, unless you have comforter covers to cut up, my favorite, which I generally cut in the same way that has been used to make t-shirt yarn, a great tutorial for which can be found here.
Happy Upcycling!
