DIY: T-Shirt Rug

October 1, 2019 | by jessica robbins

I wanted to find a cool DIY for you and your teen to create together. After much research, I came across the idea of using old t-shirts to create a cute rug for your teen’s bedroom, bathroom, or dorm room. Let's dive in and have some fun!

Supplies:

10-12 XL t-shirts
Hula-hoop
Scissors

Directions:

1. Select a color palette, and then head to a second-hand store to buy t-shirts. I bought all of mine at Goodwill.

2a. Create your loom. Lay a white shirt on the table and cut horizontal 1” bands starting at the bottom. Stop cutting bands right underneath the sleeves. (I was able to get 11 bands out of one shirt.)

2b. Pull one side of the white band to the top of the hula-hoop and stretch the other side to the bottom. Do the same thing horizontally with the next band. Continue doing this until all 11 bands are around the hula-hoop and have created a loom.

3a. Organize your colored t-shirts and cut 1” bands from the shirts. Tie your first colored band onto the center of one of the white loom pieces.

3b. Once the band is tied onto the loom, start weaving it through the loom with the over/under method. (Take the band over one white loom and under the next until you have gone around the whole circle.) When you run out of one band, tie the next one to it and keep going.

4a. Continue weaving the bands through the loom.

4b. When you’re ready to switch colors, tie on the next color, and keep going. Make sure not to pull too tight, or the middle will start bunching up. I had to redo mine a couple of times.

5. When you are finished weaving, simply tie the last band onto the one next to it. Be sure to leave at least 1” of space from the rug to the hula-hoop, so you have enough fabric left over to tie the ends.

6. Finally, cut the white loom bands to remove the rug from the hula-hoop. I cut two at a time and tied them together. Cut off any excess fabric.

7. I think it would be really cute to add some tassels or poofs to the rug. Get creative!

Place the rug in your teen’s room and enjoy. I loved mine so much I put it on my table and placed a plant on it. This fun DIY can be done while watching a movie, or while snuggling up on the couch talking with your teen. The important part is that you are together and having fun!

Originally printed in the October 2019 issue of Simply Family Magazine

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Jessica Robbins

Jessica Robbins has lived in Billings, MT for 15 years and is proud to call Montana home! She is married to her husband Zach and has two beautiful girls. She loves refurbishing furniture, crafting, and playing with her children.

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