I Have the Nicest Rags!
February 27, 2007
I came home from work last Thursday and was motivated to sort through our t-shirt collection. The only reason we had room for all of them in the closet was because they all weren’t clean at the same time. Normally I have a very difficult time getting rid of things, but as I mentioned, I was motivated. I was very strict – anything with a hole or a stain was trash. T-shirts that passed the test were sorted into three categories – dress (the nicer t-shirts that can be worn in public), exercise, and sleep. The unofficial fourth category was Cubs. I refolded and put the shirts back into labeled drawers in the closet. And surprise of all surprises, there is room for more t-shirts! Hurrah, because there’s at least five in the dirty clothes!
Now what to do with all the t-shirts on their way to the trash? It seemed like such a waste. Many of them were garbage because of a small dog-sized teeth holes. (Our punkin loves to run around with a t-shirt in her mouth and because she looks so darn cute we let her.) The logical choice was to make them into rags, but I never use the rags. But then inspiration struck and I had a plan – a mitten rag. Maybe it would be more functional than a square rag.
My first step was to create a mitten template by putting my hand on a piece of paper and drawing around it in the shape of a mitten, giving myself a little extra space so my husbands big ‘ol hand could fit inside it too. Then I laid out the t-shirt inside out, matching up the bottom edges, making sure to utilize the finished edge of the shirt. I traced the pattern onto the t-shirt checking that I didn’t include any holes or stains in my mitt. Next I pinned it, and then sewed around the pattern with a straight stitch. I made another pass around the edge using a zig-zag stitch to prevent fraying. I cut around the stitching, leaving a slight border. Once that was complete, I flipped it inside out and had my completed mitt. Not perfect, but good enough for a rag. As you see below, Harrison approves.
Bill tested out the mitt when he scrubbed the cats’ litter boxes. They worked well for both scrubbing and drying! If you use a super soft t-shirt, it would also make a good pedicure mitten – slather on some lotion before bed and then put on your mittens.
I do realize that I put entirely too much time into making rags. But it did make me feel less wasteful. Maybe I’ll even use less papertowels now too!
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About Me
Welcome to my spot on the web where I talk about needlework, crafts, and [many] other random things.
A few tidbits about me: I met my husband in college, flirting over tuba letters in the Penn Band. Our dog, CJ, and our cat, Sabrina, round out our family. I'm a sewist, knitter and needlepointer, and an occasional scrapbooker. I love organizing, reading, making jewelry, and hiking. A Chicago girl at heart, I am an avid follower the Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks.
You can email me at mlynapier [at] pobox [dot] com. Thank you for stopping by!
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