Skill : T-Shirt Weaving
Practiced by Kiki
Humans used weaving to create baskets or decoration long before they used the process to make fabric or clothes. This tradition of weaving traces back to Neolithic times – approximately 12,000 years ago.
Step 1. Get your cardboard (size does not matter, the bigger your cardboard, the longer it takes). Make sure the small cut-outs are approximately 0.5 cm apart from each other. Do this on both sides and make sure they are on the same level on each side.
Step 2. Get the smaller cardboard stripes and glue them on top of the bigger cardboard piece with the cut-outs.
Step 3. Start to loom your thread around the cardboard. Start with the end of your thread at the backside and go from back to front. Now your loom is ready so that you can start making the weaving thread from your old shirts.
Step 4. Cut your t-shirt straight under the armholes.
Step 5. Fold it as you can see in the picture. And leave about 2 cm at the top.
Step 6. Now you can start cutting. The width does not matter. It depends on how thin or thick you would like to have your fabric in the end. My strokes are about 1,5 cm wide.
Step 7. Put the cut shirt flat on the table and cut the first stroke diagonal! (look closely at the picture)
Step 8. Now you have cut the first stroke, you can easily cut the other stroke slightly diagonally.
NOTE: Step 7 and 8 are maybe difficult the first time. But when you know how it works, it is easy.
Step 9. When you have cut all your strokes, you have one super large t-shirt ‘thread’. While rolling it up to a little ball, make sure you pull it a bit. Thus, you pull out a bit of the stretch in the fabric.
Step 10. Now you can start weaving – up and down around the thread!
DATE: Tuesday the 14th of April, 2020
CREDITS:
Text and skill: Kiki van de Weerd