T-Shirt Rug: Part One

A couple of months ago I saw this tutorial on making a Flokati-style rug out of t-shirts.  Since rugs really cozy up our apartment full of hardwood floors, I jumped right on it.  The prep phase for this project has been a bit long, but I have no doubt that it'll be worth it.  

To get this DIY started, I had to scour our local Salvation Army for a ton of white t-shirts.  I made a beeline for the men's t-shirt section and selected the biggest, cheapest white shirts I could find.  That day, I went home with 25 t-shirts and began the cutting process.  I cut the tees into one-inch strips, filling a huge bag.  This cutting phase took a long time and spanned many an Entourage episode.  It also took a toll on my right hand.  Even with Cole's good sewing scissors, it was a lot of repetitive movement!

{The dyed strips waiting to be cut into smaller strips.}

Once I had sliced and diced all of my t-shirts, it was time to dye the strips.  I chose Sunshine Orange, a RIT color, and I headed up the hill to a laundromat on Cortland to do the dyeing.  Talk about a stressful hour!  I did not choose wisely in terms of laundromats.  The one I chose was really small and an old Chinese lady was milling about, cleaning the floors and watching everyone and everything like a hawk.  I already felt suspect since I was going to be dyeing my strips in a machine, which can be a big no-no at laundromats.  (In my defense, I always clean up after myself and make sure that no trace of dye remains on/around the machine.)

Anyway, I had to stealthily add my dye to the machine and start the cycle without arousing the suspicion of the old Chinese lady.  Then I sat back with my book, surreptitiously reading but really monitoring her movements.  At one point she lifted the lid on a washer in progress and my heart lurched into my throat, hoping she wouldn't check my washer.  Luckily, she didn't.  When my washer finally shuddered to a halt, I was able to quickly pile all of the strips into a dryer and then run a second cycle through the washer to remove any traces of orange dye.

Only once did the old lady pause in front of my dryer, sizing up all of the orange cotton strips spinning around in it.  She then moved on, sweeping detritus out the front door.

I'm 99% happy with the dyed color; it's just as sunshine-y as I hoped.  Unfortunately, the first thought that came to mind when I saw the dyed strips was Circus Peanuts.  Yep, these strips are the exact color of that dastardly candy.  I'll get over it.

{About halfway through the cutting-down stage.}

Once I had my clean, dyed strips at home, it was time to cut the strips into MORE strips--each one four inches long.  This also took a long time and a lot of cutting.  Again, my hand suffered.  But after a couple of hours, I cut the last one and surveyed the mound that I had created.

{Mound o' strips!}

Now that I'm done with the cutting and dyeing stages, it's time to start hooking the rug.  This is the canvas I'll be using:

It's in the shape of a rectangle right now, but I've been thinking of cutting it into a circle or possibly an oval.  We'll see.  Off to watch (more) Entourage and start putting this thing together...I can already almost feel my toes scrunching into the super-soft t-shirt material of this soon-to-be rug!