There are Many Ways to Skin a Cat

I've been working on making yarn out of old t-shirts. It's an idea I've had for some time now, but it wasn't until a trip to Starbucks on a coffee run that really catalyzed my decision to get to working on it...but that's another story in itself.

Almost $50 and 23 pounds of a mix of t-shirts, mostly large, white T's later, I've been slowly working on cutting up my super stash of shirts to make into little balls of yarn. The biggest challenge for me has been finding the most efficient and comfortable way to work on ALL these shirts.

Upon researching the process of making this curly, bulky yarn, I thought the what I call the fold-and-strip method would be the most efficient way to do it. Sure, it gets the job done quick, but my impatient nature creates a high-risk of cutting the wrong way and leaving myself with little t-shirt string rings and very thick and inconsistent strips. I'm striving to make the least bulky yarn at this time as well as make sure to get the greatest possible yield from each shirt, so this method proved to be the least ideal way to go.

So I opt for the only other way I could think of: Cut strips in a spiral while working around the shirt. Of course, certain tools help in this process, such as an ironing board to create a nice and flat surface while being able to rotate the garment around and around until you have a super crop top t-shirt.

When I first planned on using this method, I traveled to my parents' house that had a full-sized ironing board, but it was thanks to the suggestion of my sister for me to take her mini-board and set it up in the living room where I could sit in front of the television so I can snip while watching a movie or whatever.

After a few hours squatting in front of the huge TV, I realized that my butt got too too sore working that way, and being distracted by TV and computer doesn't make yarn making too quickly, but at least it's perhaps the most sane way for me to work on making yarn (while being able to catch up on watching movies).

Then I came up with the idea to sit on a couch, prop up my knees, place the shirt over my legs, and then cut strips that way. From that angle, I found that I could cut the thinnest strips that way (though sometimes too thin, causing breakage), but my wrist was a bit tweaked that way, which starts hurting after extended use, particularly at the point where I have my hairline fracture (My only bone break and again, another story in itself). I was still able to watch something to keep me distracted, but perhaps it's not the quickest way (add the movie watching to that), and my wrist get fatigued much too quickly that way.

But now I think I've found the best way for me to work: either on a bad or on the floor, with the shirt cut from the sleeves on a mini ironing board. I can still cut relatively thin, but not dangerously thin like my second to latest cut (made on the couch).

With a movie I haven't seen before on, I can cut one shirt through the movie. I should try cutting with an old favorite on or just music to see how far I can go.