52 things to do with an old shirt #5 - Crochet a Quart Cozy

I've decided the best way to cut shirts for crocheting is to
spiral up the shirt from the bottom, after cutting off the hem.
I'm saving the hems, etc., for stuffing material. Just keep going
around the shirt, cutting about a 1/2 inch wide strip and rolling
it into a ball.

A sized P crochet hook works best for crocheting most
tshirt rags. Shawn carves and sells these on his
website at laffing-horse.com

 I love to drink water. And my favorite water bottle is a quart glass jar. They feel right in my hand, hold enough water or coffee that I don't have to fill them all the time, and I can see that the jar is clean.

But they do break and in the summer, condensation builds up on the outside of the glass. And they can be a challenge to carry when you hands are full.

So, I designed and created the Quart Cozy.
Cut a t-shirt or turtle neck into a 1/2-inch wide strip. I spiral cut around the body and work my way up the shirt from the bottom. I do it in one long piece, so that I don't have any joins. This is a good project to do in front of the tv at night when you are tired.

To crochet your own Quart Cozy, use a size P crochet hook. Shawn makes these great wooden ones. You can find more on his web site at Laffing-horse.com.

Make your center loop with a draw tight. Crochet 12 single crochets into the center loop and then draw it closed.

A finished Quart Cozy soaks up condensation, gives me a
handle to carry my water bottle and cushions the jar.

Chain three, turn your work and single crochet in the top of the next sc, chain one, sc in the next sc, ch one on around. Slip stitch in the beginning chain.

Now, staying on the same side of your work, chain 2 and sc around the post of the sc in the base. sc around the post of each sc and slip stitch into the beginning chain. Chain 2, turn your work, sc in the top of each sc around the cozy. Continue to 8 rows. Turn, chain 1.
Slip stitch in the top of each sc.

Chain 15, sc in the opposite side of the cozy to form the handle. Slip stitch back across the handle. Anchor well with another slip stitch. Weave the end into the body of the cozy.

Wash with your regular laundry.

52 things to do with an old shirt - #1 Make a tshirt bag

Some of my favorite old tshirts have rips or paint stains.
But they still have memories, so they take up space in my
dresser drawer. I'll never wear this one again, because of
the green paint, and a thrift shop would just throw it out.

Start making your bag by cutting off the sleeves.

 All my life, we've had a "Goodwill" bag, or box, where you put old clothes that were still in wearable shape to donate to whatever thrift store was handy. It's wonderful that we live in a country where clothing is so abundant. But lately, I've been hearing this excess is causing serious harm in other countries, especially in Africa. I've researched it enough that I think it's not just an idle worry. If you google "used clothing Africa" you'll find this story and enough others to make you reconsider what you do with your old clothes.

Now, we still have two good local thrift stores, and I still donate my really nice stuff to them. And I've chosen to really limit my clothing purchases, following the old adage "Use it up or wear it out, make it do, or do without." but I still have lots of clothing that I don't wear anymore.

I'm going to start my own project right here. Once a week I'll post what I've figured out to do with re-purposing my old clothing under "52 things to do with an old shirt."

Leave me a comment here if you have any questions, my computer was not being terribly cooperative about loading photos this morning.

Cut off the shoulders and neckline as far above the
decoration as you can.

Cut the sleeves in a strip about 1-inch wide in a spiral, so
you have one long strip. Tshirt material will pull and coil. so
you don't have to finish the edges, unless you want to.

Turn the shirt inside out and stitch the bottom edge together.
For those of you who don't sew, I suppose these sewing
steps can be done with safety pins or staples.

Roll one top edge down about an inch and stitch to make a
tube. Repeat on the other side.

Cut each sleeve strip into three pieces and braid the strip.
Thread each of the two braided strips through the tubes that
you've sewn at the top of the bag.

Now you have a bag with two handles that opens wide
enough to hold lots of things.

You can hang it up to put your old t-shirts in. That green paint
still bothers me, I think this one will be rag bag in my
laundry room, maybe a reminder to get an old shirt out
of the bag when I go to paint something!