Budget: possibly my least favorite word that comes up regularly around here. If you, like me, operate on a tight budget, you are always looking for the MOST affordable and cost effective way to do things. I love having a beautifully decorated home, but rugs are EXPENSIVE. When my baby girl outgrew her crib and we began redecorating her “big girl room”, I needed a rug for her hard floors. A soft rug to play on, but a durable rug that would stand up to the messes that little children make (potty training was JUST around the corner!). After hours of searching the internet for the perfect rug, I had about given up on finding something beautiful and durable. With a sigh, I returned to her room and collected her crib sheets to take to Goodwill - and lightning struck! Not literally, because that would make this a sad story. But figuratively! I decided to try to upcycle my baby girl’s crib sheets into yarn so I could crochet a rug! And now, six years later, I’m gonna share with you my secret!

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DIY Easy and Cheap Jumbo Yarn: A Free Tutorial #crochettutorial #knittutorial #diyjumboyarn

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Why upcycle?

Upcycling is not JUST about being budget friendly - it is also about being environmentally friendly! Of course, I could have taken those sheets to Goodwill, but I have no guarantee that someone will buy them and they won’t end up cluttering a landfill (of course, I am happy to donate items to Goodwill and other second hand shops, or offer them to others who might need them, when I cannot think of a way to upcycle first). Sometimes old sheets aren’t something people want to buy second hand to sleep on, or maybe those old sheets are a little stained or worn out. Instead of throwing them in the trash, we can upcycle them! Even stained or old sheets look beautiful when crocheted. The tightness of the stitches hide the imperfections that may be present in the old sheets.

Of course, you may not have an extra few sets of sheets on hand. If that is the case, you can always buy old sheets from a second hand shop - they are usually only a few dollars as opposed to hundreds of dollars for a rug! If I’m honest, I have a nice rug in my “grown-up” rooms, but this is a great alternative for spaces that rugs tend to suffer in - like play rooms, children’s rooms, mud rooms, you get the idea!

Other Uses

Of course, you don’t have to make a rug out of your upcycled yarn. You can make a floor cushion for a reading nook, a pouf to put your feet up on while rocking a little one, or baskets to store your projects, or even make a very modern, boho style pillow cover for the couch! The ideas are endless - if you can make it with jumbo yarn, you can make it with this beauty!

Fiber Content

I used cotton sheets for mine, but this method can be used with any sheets you have on hand. You can use jersey sheets to make t shirt yarn, which will be stretchy and soft. You can use microfiber, which will be stiff and sturdy. You can use cotton, which will be softer and stronger than microfiber. Whichever fiber you use, this method is perfect for giving new life to those old sheets.

Supplies

This will be one of the shortest supply lists ever! You need old sheets of any size or fiber content, and a sharp pair of fabric scissors. Don’t have fabric scissors? You can always use kitchen scissors or craft scissors, but I PROMISE your hand will hurt by the end. Seriously, get you some good Fiskars and save yourself hours of pain. These babies are spring loaded with a soft and comfortable handle. You could use them for HOURS and not be in pain!

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The Technique

Obviously, you can take your sheets and cut them into strips to make yarn, but then you have THREE MILLION ENDS to weave in when you finish making something. And if you know anything about me, you know how much I despise weaving in ends (I don’t know why I hate this task soooo much!). I’m gonna show you how to take a flat sheet or a fitted sheet and turn it into one continuous ball of jumbo yarn. Which means less ends. Which makes me happy. Because end weaving is the literal worst. Ok, maybe not the WORST, but pretty annoying.

Fitted Sheet

The key to getting a continuous ball of yarn with a fitted sheet is to first removed all the seams. I use my handy scissors to remove each of the corner seams, then I remove the edge seams, so I have a mostly flat piece of material to work with. Yes, the corners are cut out, but as long as the sheet lays flat, you are ready to go!

After you have removed the seams, measure out 2 inch sections on both sides of the sheet. Honestly, I usually just measure out a few, then eyeball it for the rest of the sheet (Yes, those are not Fiskars. SOMEONE used them to cut something other than fabric and they got nicked).

Starting 2 inches down from the top of the sheet, cut straight across. Pro tip: for cotton or microfiber, you can start the cut, then rip the sheet. It will naturally tear in a straight line based off the cut. Ripping the material makes the cutting process go so much faster! Note, you cannot tear jersey sheets, but instead you will need to cut the entire length.

IMPORTANT: Do not cut all the way through, but stop about an inch before you get to the end of the sheet.

After finishing your first cut, you will stop about 1 inch before you reach the edge of the sheet. Measure 2 inches down from where your cut stopped, and start cutting the second seam there. You will end up making a GIANT zig-zag cut through the sheet, as illustrated below.

Stop 1 inch before the edge, then start cutting 2 inches below the first cut to form a zig-zag.

Flat Sheet

Cutting the flat sheet is much simpler, since you will not need to cut out the corner seams or the elastic. I like to cut off the top hem, which is usually thicker than the side and bottom hems - and therefore, doesn’t work up well in a crochet project. I continue making the zig-zag cut until I have worked through the entire piece of materials.

Pro Tips:

Cotton fabric is woven, so as you cut or rip it, you will see stray strings forming on the edges. I prefer to wind it into a giant ball as I go to prevent these strings from tangling and making a giant mess. When I crochet with my DIY jumbo yarn, I will trim off extra strands that may be getting a bit wild. When the finished piece is worked up, you won’t notice any extra strands, as they are well worked in.

You can make different thicknesses of DIY jumbo yarn by changing up how far apart your cuts are. I made mine 2 inches apart and used a 20 mm hook to make a giant floor pillow for my children’s reading nook. I have also made the yarn 1 inch and used a 10 mm hook to make a 5x4 oval rug for my daughter’s bedroom.

Need ideas for what you can use this yarn for? Sign up for my email list so you will get notified when I post my floor pillow AND nursery rug patterns!