How to make a bathmat using old t-shirts!

I don't know about you, but when I wear out a t-shirt, I save it. I feel like, while it it ratty enough that I cannot wear it anymore, there must be something to use all that good fabric for! I cut out squares that had designs on them for making a t-shirt quilt, but there was still a lot of the shirt leftover that I didn't need or couldn't use for a quilt. I only have so much storage, so I really wanted to find something to do with the rest of the shirts!

Then I saw a video on YouTube of someone making a bathmat out of t-shirts. Brilliant! I took my pile and began cutting and knitting, and you can see how it turned out! I'm pleased! While we don't really need two bathmats right now, it will make out original one last longer, and eventually we will probably have two bathrooms anyway. Now I just have a small bag of scraps that I think I'll probably use to stuff a pillow someday...

Instructions:

1) Cut up old t-shirts into strips about 1.5 inches wides and as long as possible. Don't worry about making these strips perfect! If your shirt has no side seams, you can cut off the bottom and just wind your way up the shirt. If you have side seams, you will probably want to cut up the front and back separately in the manner shown in the the diagram below. Note: If some of your shirts are especially thin, you might want to cut a bit wider than usual. I think this would have helped my rows to be more uniform.

2) Begin knitting! I used size 10.5 needles, and it was a bit tough on my fingers. Bigger needles would probably be easier and go faster. I think I ended up casting on 30 stitches. Change colors when you feel like it!

3) When you feel like it is long enough, cast off. All you need to do now is trim the tufts of shirt that will be sticking up occasionally. Then - ta da! - awesome bathmat!