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Side seams and T-shirt Yarn

One of my favorite materials to upcycle is t-shirt yarn. Many t-shirts are manufactured on tubular looms, so they don’t have side seams. Tarn (t-shirt yarn) made from these shirt are completely smooth. But what happens when the t-shirt has side seams?

I’ve had quite a few readers ask just that. Here is an email from one reader.

Your tutorial on making continuous tshirt yarn is so clear. Thank you. Can t-shirt yarn be made from tees that actually have seams on either side, or is it too bulky? —Maureen

Hi Maureen, You most certainly can make plarn from t-shirts with side seams. Yes, you’re correct you’ll end up tarn that’s not smooth from end to end. The t-shirt strand won’t curl in at the seams. Think of nubby seams as little slubs. You can minimize these bulky bumps by snipping the points of the seams after you’ve cut and stretched your tarn. Just don’t cut too much of the seam, because it’s holding the continuous tarn together! I hope that helps!

Check out my sketched diagram. It illustrates how to cut a seam to minimize the seam slub.

Keep the comments and questions coming! Thanks, Everyone!

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