Tried turning old t-shirts into plant yarn and it actually held up

I was sure shredded fabric strips would just rot in a week, but the braided ones I made from 3 old Hanes tees are still holding my tomato plants after 2 months in the rain. Has anyone else gotten craft twine to work for outdoor stuff, or did I just get lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_butler506d ago

In my experience it really depends on the fabric and how you prep it. I tried the same thing with some old cotton blend tees and they started fraying apart after about 3 weeks of rain. Your Hanes tees might be a different weave or maybe you braided them tighter than I did. Take this with a grain of salt but if they start looking fuzzy or splitting just swap them out before they snap.

river_adams256d ago

The key is definitely the braiding technique and the type of cotton you're working with. I did the same thing with some old Fruit of the Loom white tees I had laying around and I braided them super tight, like almost as tight as I could get them without them twisting up. They've been holding my pole beans since April and they're still going strong, even through a few big storms we had in May. The strips I cut with pinking shears held up way better than the ones I just tore with my hands, that really made a difference. I think the tighter weave of the 100% cotton tees just grips itself better when you braid it compared to the stretchier blends.