DIY recycled t shirt braided scarf tutorial

This tutorial will teach you how to make your very own homemade recycled t shirt braided scarf.

There are several different ways to go about making these scarves, but all are extremely simple. For this project, I used XL t-shirts I got from a local thrift store but you can also use store bought jersey fabric as well. Let's get started!!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

- Fabric OR XL used seamless t-shirt (no need to buy new)
- Fabric scissors

That's it! WOW!

ABOUT THE FABRIC:

You will need approximately 1 - 2 meters of fabric depending on the desired length. I chose a cotton jersey because it was so soft and very stretchy, however, any type of cotton will do. Go to your local thrift store to find mens or ladies XL cotton t-shirts. I say XL because the width of the t-shirt will determine how long your scarf is and the length will determine the thickness. Also, avoid using t-shirts with seams sewn on the sides as they will look unsightly when braided. No no no to seams.

INSTRUCTIONS:

If you are using a t-shirt first you need to WASH it....who knows where it's been or who's been doing jumping jacks in it. Yucky. Next you want to lay it flat and cut out the body of the shirt by cutting off the hem on the bottom as well as the top portion of the shirt by cutting right under the armpit.

Feel free to splatter fabric paint or tie dye your material at this point, I have kept this scarf plain.

Cut 1/2 - 1 inch strips along the width of the fabric creating loops. I cut out the strips freehand...you do not need to be exact, but try to make sure that the strips are about the same size. If the edges are jagged it's ok...they will be rolled up anyways.

You will end up with something like this:

Once all the strips have been cut out, gently tug along the length of the strips to curl the edges under. Make sure to stretch each loop out evenly, otherwise you can end up with some longer than others.

If you used a t-shirt for this project, cut through one end of fabric so you have long strands of cotton instead of circular loops. Leave one strand aside, as you will be using it to secure the braid later on.

You will need to find something to anchor one end of the fabric to keep the strands in place while you braid. The only thing I could think of using was one of the table legs from my coffee table! haha. It worked really well! Leave a good amount of fabric to be unbraided as this will form the free flowing strands that you see in the photo. I left approximately a foot of fabric. I will now leave you to your search of something to anchor your scarf. Good Luck!

Next you will need to divide your strands into three equal sections. Here I had exactly four strands in each section, BUT the number of strands does not need to be exact....just roughly the same.

Now it's braiding time!!! Yahoo!! I believe that most of you know how to preform a simple braid, but just in case you don't....watch this video here. Braid down the length of the fabric again leaving about a foot of fabric unbraided at the bottom. Make sure you braid a small section at a time as the strands below the braid get tangled fairly quickly. Brush through them every so often to prevent this from happening.

Once the braid is complete, gently remove it from whatever you used to anchor it and tie the two ends of the braid together with the strand you saved earlier. Wrap it around the ends several times and double knot it to secure. Weeee you're almost done!!!

Feather out the strands and cut random pieces shorter to created a layered effect.

Easy Peasy! Now you're all done! Enjoy your new homemade recycled t-shirt braided scarf, how lovely.

Comment below if you have any questions! Thanks for reading!!