Rag Yarn: Making Yarn from Fabric

---

Crocheting or knitting with rag yarn made from fabric strips is a great way to upcycle worn clothing, thrift store finds, and bed linens that are too worn to donate . . . as well as fabric remnants (even if they’re just a couple of inches wide). It is also a great way to take advantage of amazing bargain-bin sales at fabric stores. Then crochet or knit it up into something cool like the Rag Yarn Vase Cozy from Interweave Crochet Fall 2018 (shown above).

Tips for Selecting Fabrics

Related: Crochet Rag Rug: The Art of Home

Techniques for Making Fabric Yarn

Sewing

Fabric strips can be sewn together mitered or end to end. Even really badly sewn seams are perfectly good once you trim. This is not precision sewing. Fast and furious sloppy sewing works just fine. Seams should be about ¼” and, if needed, trimmed to ⅛” to reduce bulk.

Advantages: The join is practically invisible when crocheting. If you’re cutting up clothing where the strips are less than a yard long, sewn seams use less fabric than knotted joins.

Disadvantages: You need a sewing machine. If you don’t join all your strips at one time, you will need continuous access to a sewing machine.

Knotting

Fold the end of the fabric strip back on itself ¾” and make a ¼” snip, which will create a ½” slit when unfolded. Repeat on the other end, then repeat with a second strip. Every fabric strip that gets joined will have a slit at both ends.

1. Thread second strip through slit in first strip.

2. Pull through and thread second strip through slit on first strip’s other end.

3. Keep pulling . . . (It helps to hold on to the second fabric strip end while pulling so you don’t risk tearing the slits in the fabric).

4. Carefully pull tight so that the two strips are locked and knotted.

Advantages: Your project is portable because you don’t need a sewing machine. And hey . . . no sewing machine!

Disadvantages: A knotted join can sometimes be hard to hide when crocheting. Sometimes the little tag ends will insist on sticking out of your project. The result is a more handmade or rustic look, but that’s not such a bad thing when it comes to rag yarn.

Extra Tip: When fabric strips are more than three yards long, they tend to tangle, and once the loose threads get going, the resulting mess is almost impossible to undo. To avoid this, roll long fabric strips into a ball. You can always cut this one long strip at any time to add a different fabric or wait till the end and add more. Alternatively, you can just keep adding more fabric as you need it, three or so yards at a time.

Making T-Shirt Yarn

For jersey-knit fabrics, we recommend this technique:

Making Plastic Bag Yarn (AKA Plarn)

A similar concept applies to making yarn from plastic bags! Try it for durable outdoor or garage rugs, for market bags, and whatever else you can think of! Plarn is also great for certain projects for charity.

---

And that’s it! Now you have a limitless supply of yarn! Try it out in your favorite stitch pattern.

Project Ideas for Rag Yarn

From traditional rag rugs to other innovative ideas, we hope you’ll try out these projects with rag yarn!

Knit and Crochet Rag Rugs

When most people think of fabric yarn, they think of rag rugs. These classic pieces never go out of style, and if cared for well, can become family heirlooms. While the traditional rag rug is crocheted or woven, knitting can also get you a great result!

Knitted Rag Rug

We love this pattern for knitting your rag rug in blocks. Other ideas for this pattern: make each block striped in tonals or contrasts; make each block a different color; or use 1×1 colorwork to make each block two colors.

Basic Tutorial: Crochet a Perfect Circle

All you really need to do to make a crochet rag rug is to stitch in a circle! Did you know there’s a formula that will get you a perfect circle every time? Here’s how it’s done.

Geometric Crochet Throw Rug

Who says a crochet rag rug has to be square? Use this pattern as your template to make a square version.

More Rag Yarn Décor Projects

Want to try stitching with rag yarn but aren’t ready to commit to a full rug? These smaller-scale projects are perfect to give the technique a try.

Rag Yarn Crochet Vase Cozy by Maria O’Keefe

Use simple single crochet stitches to create the Rag Yarn Vase Cozy; the fun is in making the yarn! Maria’s design is perfect for anyone with fabric lying around. This would be so fun to match with a quilt in your home, or as a complement to a crochet rag rug.

Knit and Crochet Baskets

Whether you want to knit baskets or crochet them, rag yarn is a great choice to make lively, textured pieces of décor.

Crochet Plant Holder

We would love to see this plant holder worked up in a cute fabric yarn! Vickie Howell’s Home Grown Plant Cozy was designed in a bulky yarn and we know it would work great in upcycled yarn as well.

More Ideas for Rag Yarn

Rag yarn isn’t just for home décor! You can try fabric yarn wherever you can get gauge—usually in the realm of bulky or super-bulky. It could work great for bags and totes! Remember that your fabric will be pretty stiff in most cases, so it might not work super well for garments—unless that’s the look you’re going for! Be creative and let us know what you create in the comments.

---

Maria O’Keefe loves coffee and crochet and stomping her acreage in rural Kansas with her neighbor’s five dogs.

---

Article originally published in Interweave Crochet Fall 2018; originally shared to web 10/3/2018. Updated 7/20/2023.

Note: This article contains affiliate links to products independently chosen by our editors. If you choose to purchase through our links, we may receive a small commission. Thank you!

---

Put Your Rag Yarn to Use