How to Make T-Shirt Yarn

This past weekend hubby decided to go through his clothes and donate to charity a bunch of items he was not wearing any more. In the pile of things were several t-shirts. I had been thinking of trying to make T-shirt yarn for some time now so I took this as an opportunity to give it a try. Although there are several steps to the process, it was pretty simple. One word of caution though...don't let your mind wonder or you could end up with a bunch of fabric loops like I did at one point. Another side note is to use t-shirts that have no side seams for a smooth yarn and use the sharpest scissors you have.

Step 1: Find a pile of old T-shirts or go out and purchase some in fun colours at a thrift store.

Step 2: Fold the t-shirt in half so the sleeves are together with any design facing outward so you can see how far to cut your "yarn". Trim off the hem at the bottom and discard.

Step 3: Using a ruler, measure about half an inch down from the fold line and draw a line across the length of the t-shirt. Then mark one inch intervals along the opposite edge of the t-shirt which you will use as a cutting guide.

Step 4: Cut as many strips as you cut until you reach the underarm of the t-shirt. Be sure not to go past the line you have drawn at the top edge of the t-shirt, you do not want to cut past the fold. Discard the top part of the t-shirt including the sleeve portion.

Step 5: Flatten out the top cut section of t-shirt in a single layer so that the uncut top portion of the t-shirt is running down the center of your piece of fabric.

Step 6: This is the part that gets a little tricky so pay attention. (This is where I ended up with some loops instead of a strip). Cut diagonal across the uncut portion from strip to strip. Cut the first piece at a slant and each consecutive piece after that so you have one long strip of fabric. Don't be concerned if you have some odd looking sections, after the next step everything will look okay.

Step 7: Grab one end of your strip and start to pull the fabric, it will magically curl up on itself and look a lot more like yarn. Do this to the whole long strand. Be careful you do not go too fast....it burns your hand :(





Once I had several balls of "yarn" I found a pattern on Pinterest. There are many, just type in T-Shirt yarn basket pattern to find one you like. Now I have a great place to keep my onions!!

Sauerkraut Three Ways

Have had a craving for sauerkraut these last few days and since my previous batch of Caraway Kraut and Kimchi are almost all gone now, I decided to make another batch...or two...or three. I couldn't make up my mind on what kind I wanted.It only takes a bit of time to whip up a quart jar so I made three kinds today.Oriental with Bok Choy and Seaweed, Purple Cabbage with Apple and one using a bought Coleslaw Mix with Fire Cider Powder.

The basic instructions are the same for all 3 kinds of Kraut. Combine everything together in a large bowl and pound the crap out of it with a kraut pounder or just massage it with your hands. Set aside for two hours so the mixture can release any juices which will be used for the brine. Pound the crap out of it again and let sit another hour. Once the mixture has wilted and released any juices, pack into clean quart sized jars. Add 1/4 cup liquid whey (from making Greek Yogurt or cream cheese) and enough filtered water to cover the vegetables. If you do not have any whey, then use a salt brine mixture of 1/4 cup Sea Salt to one quart filtered water. Run a clean knife around the inside of the jar, reaching down all the way to the bottom, to release any air bubbles. Submerge the vegetables under the brine using any number of methods, I used flat clear glass pieces I bought at the $ Store. You can also fill a zip-lock sandwich bag with salt brine and cover the top of the Kraut mixture. I then topped the Kraut with a smaller glass jar to keep any air out while fermenting. Leave this mixture on the counter for 3-7 days. You can eat the Kraut at this point or remove the smaller glass jars from the opening and secure a lid on to the jar and place in a cool, dark place for up to 6 weeks.

Oriental Kraut with Bok Choy and Seaweed

        1/2 head of Bok Choy Oriental Cabbage, sliced 1/2 inch thick

        5 leaves of Kale, peeled off the stem and sliced into thin strips

        1 carrot, washed, dried and grated

        5 green onions, sliced thinly, green parts only

        2 Nori sheets, torn along perforations and then thinly snipped with scissors

        1/2 tsp Galangal Powder

        1 tbsp Chili Powder

        1 Dried Thai Chili Pepper

        1 Tbsp Sea Salt

Purple Cabbage Kraut with Apple and Fennel

          1/2 head of Purple Cabbage, sliced thinly (I used my mandoline).

          1/2 medium white onion, diced

          1 apple, grated

          1/2 tsp fennel seed

          1/2 tsp pickling spices

          8 whole cloves

          1 Tbsp Sea Salt

Coleslaw Mix Kraut with Fire Cider Powder

         1 Bag Coleslaw Mix

         1/2 medium onion, diced

         1 Tbsp Fire Cider Powder (I dehydrated the pulp from my batch of Fire Cider). 

         Here is a recipe for Fire Cider from Cari-Lee at Recipe for Anarchy.

         1/2 tsp Caraway seeds

         1 Tbsp Sea Salt

Citrus Peels

If you eat seasonally, which gives you the best “bang” for your buck, you will notice that citrus fruit abounds this time of year.Whether your preference is a variety of oranges, red or white grapefruit, limes, lemons or plumellos they all offer the Vitamin C your body needs at this time of year.If you are cheap aka frugal, like me, then you will wonder about finding something to do with all those citrus peels destined for your compost bin.Well….here are two of the things I do with them.

Kitchen Degreaser/Cleaner

So, we all know about the nasty chemicals found in most kitchen cleaners and want to stay clear but, we also want a clean kitchen that smells great and don’t want to spend a lot of money finding the right product.Well, you can make your own lemony scented degreaser/cleaner for next to nothing.

Place any citrus peels you remove from your fruit into a glass jar and cover them with plain white vinegar.Every time you have a piece of citrus fruit, add the peels to the jar and add more vinegar until your jar if full.At this point, place a lid on the jar and let it sit on the counter for two weeks. Give it a shake every once in a while when you remember.This will help to draw out the citrus oils that contain d-limonene which is the component that has the degreasing/cleaning power.After the two weeks is up, strain the mixture (be sure to squeeze out every last drop from the peels) and mix it 1:1 with water into a spray bottle.To give this cleaner even more “oomph” add a couple of drops of Rosemary essential oil which is known for its anti-bacterial properties. 

Citrus Zest

If possible, choose organic fruit if you are planning on making this as you will be ingesting it or just
wash, dry and peel the fruit.Using a
citrus zester or the small holes on a box grater, grate off only the top layer of the citrus peel.You do not want to go so far down that you put any of the white membrane, pith, into your zest.Transfer the grated zest on to a piece of parchment paper and spread out in an even layer.You can let this dry on the counter for a couple of days or to speed things up, place in a 200 degree oven for an hour or so.You can also place in a dehydrator on the lowest setting for a couple of hours.When the grated zest is dry, you can make into a powder by whirling around in a coffee grinder or leave it at the coarse stage.Place in a clean, dry glass jar away from direct
sunlight for storing.To use, slightly crush the zest between your fingers to release
the volatile oils before adding to your dish.I love adding this zest to baked goods or chicken
and fish dishes.

P.S. I have also been known to add some to a hot Epsom salt bath with lavender essential oil and powdered milk. Heavenly!

Egg Shell Bathtub Cleaning Powder

All winter long we save our egg shells to use in our garden. We sprinkle them around the base of plants that tend to get nibbled on by slugs. Apparently, it feels like crawling across glass shards to them. Sounds about right...not sure though, I'm not a slug.
Well at about this time of year I am getting tired of having those jars of shells taking up space on my kitchen counter so I decided to try my hand at making a homemade bathtub scrub. It was VERY easy to do and worked like a charm.

Homemade Bathtub Scrub

1 mason jar full of crushed up egg shells

1/2 cup baking soda

Essential oil of your choice, citrus is nice

First take your egg shells and place them in a glass or metal casserole dish and place them in a 150 degree oven for about 2 hours to be sure they are completely dried out. 

Before doing this you can boil them for about 10 minutes to remove any dried egg "guck" and let them dry for about 8 hours. I didn't do this because I am just using it to clean the tub and sink. If you also make your own mineralizing tooth powder you may want to do a bunch of shells at the same time for both uses.

Once the egg shells are completely dry, pulverize them to a powder, in a coffee grinder you do not use for coffee. Pour the powder into a bowl and mix with 1/2 cup baking soda. 

Pour mixture into a jar and add 20 drops of your favourite essential oil. Citrus-y scents are great for this. I placed two empty essential oil bottles from lemongrass and tea tree (cause I'm cheap aka frugal like that) and the droppers into a jar and sealed it. I let any oils and scent permeate the egg shells overnight and it smells heavenly! 

I put about a tablespoon of the egg shell mixture on a damp sponge and scrubbed away.