DIY Cotton rag scarf/necklace

Check out what I made today in 15 minutes!

Where did I get this idea? Well, it wasn't my own--though I've seen many things similiar to this and just needed to be reminded. Fast forward to last night when, in my adventures on Etsy, I stumbled upon these gorgeous upcycled tshirt scarves! This is her version below:

"EcoShag" is the vendor and all of the scarves are totally adorable. I especially love the large peices! Also, if you buy from them I believe that portions of proceeds go to charity. They even have some scarves made of recycled pressed cotton shirts. There is one in red gingham. Oh my. LOVE! I will be making more of these for sure!

So, if you're not a person who likes to craft but you like the style...check them out and get one for yourself! But, if you have some old tshirts laying around (as I suspect you do) and you have time for a 15 minute project that actually doesn't even require sewing...read on!

All I did was select three old tshirts I didn't want anymore in grey, dark brown and light purple. They were different sizes. I didn't worry about the strips I was cutting even being exactly the same because of the nature of this project, but I'd say they were roughly three inches wide. Most of them ended up being about 1.5-2 feet long, as I cut them horizontally from the tshirt.

I pulled on them and ran them through my fingers so that they would "curl up" a bit on the edges.

Next I sewed ends together so that I'd have larger loops (around 3 feet once they were secured) that I then doubled those loops. Then I arranged the loops together as I liked! You don't have to sew them; you could tie them together for a rag effect or even use fabric glue (though I'm not sure about the permanency when washing).

Once I had the arrangement I wanted, I secured them with tiny strips of the lighter purple fabric, because I wanted a more pulled together look. (Also, I knew I would wear the piece arranged just as you see it above, and not differently every time).

Of course, YOU don't have to do it that way. You could leave the ties off altogether so that the pieces were just free to arrange however you like. In this case, I think I would at least bind the larger loops together once in the back where the back of your neck will be, so that they have some security.

I plan on making more of these. I suspect at EcoShag they razor the cotton to get a nicer curl on the edge. Live and learn.

How awesome, right? Upcycle chic! I will post an outfit with this scarf later! :)