I first heard Jenelle Montilone of (TrashN2Tees) speak on episode 5 of the Crafty Planner podcast. I was intrigued when I learned that she was into re-purposing T-shirts to keep them out of landfills. Then I really wanted to become her BFF (Best Fabric Friend) when I met her in person at the BERNINA ambassador reunion last month. Her passion and energy are contagious, and her talent for making cool stuff from T-Shirts really knocked my socks off.

 

Jenelle recently wrote her first book, The Upcycled T-Shirt where she covers tips and techniques for creative ways to re-imagine unwanted or worn out t-shirts.

Check out a few of these fun and unique ideas, all made from T-shirts:

 

 

 

A scrappy summer dress would be so fun to make!

 

I would totally wear these earrings!

Who knew you could update your decor with old T-shirts??

 

Create T-shirt yarn and knit it into other projects like throws and seat cushions!

Speaking of T-shirt yarn, Jenelle is going to try and set the world record for making the largest ball of t-shirt yarn, and she needs your help! To participate, simply follow the directions shared in the video below to cut your T-shirts into yarn:

 

Balls of T-shirt yarn just ready to be made into something fun!

Then, mail your length of yarn with your name written on it by October 1, 2016 to:

Later in 2016 a group of volunteers are going to wrap the t-shirt ball in a public & celebrated event where it will be judged by the Guinness Book of World Records. The World Record will be held by everyone who participates.

 

After the world record is obtained, the largest Ball of T-shirt Yarn will go on a book tour with Jenelle and will then be displayed publicly. Finally, she will host a second challenge to anyone who signs up to participate- returning large balls of t-shirt yarn to bloggers, school clubs, and organizations to see what they will make or come up with. Doesn’t that sound like fun??

To find out more about Jenelle’s fabulous book, be sure to follow all of these stops on the tour:

January 4 Jenelle Montilone // trashn2tees.com
January 5 Amy Johnson // makermama.com
January 5 Christa Watson // christaquilts.com  (You are Here!)
January 6 Sandi Hazelwood // craftyplanner.com
January 6 Mandy Leins // mandalei.com
January 7 Julia Vidile // titesmains.com
January 8 Christopher Thompson // thetattooedquilter.com
January 8  Andrea Davis // sewtofit.com

Be sure to pick up your copy of The Upcycled T-Shirt today!