I’ve just finished another medium sized yarn basket for the etsy shop, at the request of a previous customer.

I’m also currently working on a big basket made from more second hand clothes, which is on hold until I source some more black T shirts. I restarted it 3 times before I figured out the right hook to use – it makes one hell of a difference! I’m using strips of 2 – 3 inches wide of T shirt or similar material. The 10mm was too loose and gappy. Using 6mm went all strange and lumpy while I was trying to crochet the flat base of the basket. The 8mm seems to be juuuuust right.

Basket for repeat customer with metallic gold chunky yarn. Shiny.

Haven’t finished this yet, and I’m already using it to hold more fabric yarn. So far made from 5 black T shirts, a dress I used to wear in the 80’s, some shiny blue leggings I bought for an 80’s party that went funny in the wash, and the bodice of a tacky Miss Santa costume.

That’s my megabasket, the Mermaid Pool, in the background. It is huge.

The new basket front and centre. Some of my partner’s art in the background. The box contains some of my fabric stash.

If you’re new to cutting T shirt yarn, there are various YouTube tutorials to help! This one also shows you how to deal with the sleeves and upper body, too. I confess to not unpicking the stitching as I have to balance time spent versus material gained. I just cut the sleeve and body hem off and use them as is. It works for me as I’m using pretty wide strips anyway. And I like seeing a bit of the “history” and the construction of the garment in the finished piece. I do find that the bits that are cut in a zigzag (instead of a spiral) are liable to tearing when you pull them.

My new favourite hobby is buying second hand clothing on ebay that nobody’s bid on and is going cheap. So much fun when you’re not too bothered whether you win or not, and I’ll have a bunch of unusual fabrics to inspire me! I like the idea that I’m stopping these items from going to landfill.* If you also like the idea of working with recycled materials (not just fabric), have a look at the friendly and very creative Waste Not Want Not group on Facebook.

Next up for me: experimenting with using the sewing machine to join fabric yarn lengths instead of tying knots and weaving the ends in. It should be neater, and hopefully will save time. Just got to get the spoons together to get the machine set up**.

*I would love to buy from charity shops, but lack of spoons mostly prevents this.
** Can’t really do this on the sofa in front of the TV. Or can I?