Fashion Shenanigans: Recycled T-shirt Braided Scarf :)

Alright, this one was kinda tedious and time consuming, but I think it turned out pretty cute :)

You'll need an extra large shirt in the color of your choice. (remember, the bigger and wider the shirt, the longer your scarf can be.) I saw someone else do this and they used two different colored T-shirts for the scarf, but I just skipped a step and used a striped shirt in cute colors and went from there.

Now lay your shirt out and cut off the bottom hem and as close to the bottom of the sleeves as you can.

Then cut up one side seam so you have one long rectangle of fabric.

You can make the cuts for your braid pieces anywhere from a centimeter to an inch wide (or however wide really, it's up to you) depending on how big you want the braids to be. Or follow the pattern of the stripes if you're using a striped shirt. My stripes happened to be about a centimeter wide. Your cuts don't have to be perfect. If the edges aren't straight that's ok, they'll roll up later anyway. Also, if you're working with a striped shirt you have the option of cutting on the stripe lines (so each piece is only one color) or halfway between (so each piece has some of both colors) depending on how you want your braids to look.

*Make sure to lay out your pieces in some kind of organized fashion! They tangle ridiculously easy!*

Now take your pieces and stretch them out so the sides curl in. The pieces should about double in size.

Now you can start braiding! (beware- this does take a lot of time and patience) Take 3 pieces of fabric and put them together. Leave a couple inches at the top and then tie a knot.

Anchor your strands to something (ie: a table) and get braiding!

When braiding the longer strands I found that they get tangled SUPER easily. I ended up balling up the loose ends like so and just braiding those until I got closer to the ends.

For shorter braids you'll obviously want to cut the strands. Some I cut in half, others I just cut a few inches off the end. It's really trial and error and personal preference at this point.
Here's a diagram so you can have an idea on how long you want to make your braids
depending on where you want them to land :)

Once you have all your pieces braided lay them out and situate them as you like.

Now make sure to untie all the ends and lay them on top of each other.

Use some left over fabric (I had some from the shorter braids) and begin to wrap it around the loose ends, securing them in place. Tie off and repeat as necessary.