The Upcycling Nanny: Connecting Upcycled T-Shirt Yarn

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Three methods used to connect Upcycled T-Shirt Yarn.

Connecting Upcycled T-Shirt Yarn

Knot Method

The first method pictured above is the knot method. This method is the easiest and requires no additional material to achieve. It is also one of the least used methods because the knots leave bulk in unwanted areas of your work. They sometimes look messy or you can not hide them in the back of your work.

You will need about 3 inches of your working yarn (yellow in the above picture) and new yarn (red in the above picture). Open the tube of your working yarn and place you new yarn in side the tube.

Close the new tube and form a loop. Insert the opposite end of the new yarn through the loop and pull back through itself forming a knot.

Here is my knot connections knitted into a piece.

Loop Method

The second method is the loop method. This requires scissors or something to cut a small eye hole into each connecting end piece.

I do not use this method often because my loop connections always turn out very messy.

After cutting the small eye hole into each end piece insert the new yarn end (green in this picture) through the working yarn eye hole (yellow in this picture).

Insert the opposite end of the new yarn through its own eye hole and pull closed.

Here is my finished loop connection knitted into a piece. I find this connection easier to hide in my work but I still make a mess of it.

Sew Method

The last method in the three knot connections pictured above is the sew method. I find this method easiest to use, although it requires a needle and thread.

Open both ends of the yarn you wish to connect and place one inside the other.

Use your needle and thread to make a stitch. Insert your needle from the inside of the tube to hide the thread knot. Some people like one stitch, others like two or three. It is up to you.

Close the tube and continue working.

Here are my sewn connections in a knitted piece. This method is usually the easiest to hide.

My connections look messy in this finished piece but I hope you understand how to try them out for your self.

I usually add connections while I am working on a project and trim after the connections have been worked. Adding them before can be more difficult because you may not be sure where they fall. When I do connect my Top T-Shirt Upcycled scraps before hand I use the sew method because it is easiest for me to hide.

Please excuse any blurriness or lighting issues in the pictures. My children found a horse in our yard and while we all gathered to see why it was in our yard, this snake came to visit us on the porch!!