The complete guide to jersey yarn — what it is, where it comes from, how to use it, and why it's rather brilliant
T-shirt yarn goes by a lot of names. Jersey yarn. Spaghetti yarn. Fabric yarn. Zpagetti. Whatever you call it, the questions are always the same: what actually is it? Where does it come from? Is it really as eco-friendly as people say? And — most practically — what on earth do you make with it?
Here are the answers.
T-shirt yarn is made from the offcuts and surplus fabric produced during T-shirt manufacturing. When a factory cuts T-shirt shapes from rolls of jersey fabric, the leftover strips — the bits around the neckline, the armholes, the edges — can't be used for garments. They used to go to landfill or be incinerated. Now, increasingly, they get cut into long continuous strips, rolled or twisted into a chunky yarn, and sold to crafters.
The fabric is almost always at least 80% cotton, which means the yarn is soft, washable, and pleasant to work with. Some batches are plain colour throughout. Others have a slightly different shade on the reverse — what's called a "textured back" — which is a natural result of how jersey fabric is constructed and adds a nice visual interest to finished projects.
It's also known as jersey yarn because jersey is the knit fabric most T-shirts are made from — the same stretchy, comfortable stuff you're probably wearing right now. Spaghetti yarn is another name for it, which tells you quite a lot about how it behaves when you unroll it from the bobbin.
Yes — and not in a vague, marketing-speak kind of way.
Every ball of T-shirt yarn we sell is made from fabric that would otherwise have been wasted. The textile industry produces a staggering amount of manufacturing offcuts; it's one of the less talked-about waste streams in fashion, sitting somewhere between the raw material and the finished product, invisible to most consumers. T-shirt yarn gives that material a second life.
No additional dyes are used in the production of our yarn. The colours you see are the colours of the original fabric — which is why our range looks the way it does, and why certain shades appear and disappear depending on what the factories are producing. It's a genuinely circular use of an existing resource, not just something that sounds good on a label.
Ten percent of our profits also go to Buy Land Plant Trees CIC — our community interest company that buys and re-wilds land in Cumbria. So your yarn is doing a small extra bit of good beyond just being recycled.
Chunky. Robust. Soft in a substantial way — not fine and delicate, but solid and satisfying. The cotton content means it's not scratchy, and most people find it comfortable to work with for extended periods.
It has a stretch to it, though this varies considerably from bobbin to bobbin — which is one of its quirks, and one worth knowing about before you start a project. Some bobbins have quite a lot of give, which is great for anything that benefits from elasticity: bags that need to expand, baskets that take a bit of a bashing, hair accessories, plant holders. Others have very little stretch at all and feel almost rigid, which suits structured items like baskets and bowls particularly well.
You won't know exactly which you've got until you start working with it. This isn't a problem, exactly — it's a characteristic of working with recycled material, and experienced T-shirt yarn crafters treat the stretch as part of the creative conversation with the material. But it's worth being aware of if you're making something where a specific tension is critical.
Almost anything that benefits from a chunky, robust, washable yarn. Some of the most popular uses:
Baskets and bowls. This is probably what T-shirt yarn is best known for, and for good reason. The thickness of the yarn means you can crochet a sturdy, freestanding basket in an evening. We have a full how-to guide on crocheting a basket with T-shirt yarn if you'd like to get started — including tips on using our wooden circular bases to get a perfectly flat bottom without crocheting it yourself.
Bags. Market bags, tote bags, project bags. The stretch and strength of T-shirt yarn makes it excellent for anything that needs to carry weight. Our wooden bag handles pair particularly well with a simple crocheted bag body.
Plant holders. Macrame-style hanging planters, crocheted pot covers, trailing shelf displays. T-shirt yarn is chunky enough to work up quickly and robust enough to hold a heavy pot without distorting over time.
Home accessories. Cushion covers, rugs, coasters, wall hangings, table runners. The colour range is wide enough to match most interiors, and the cotton content means everything can go in the washing machine.
Children's toys. Soft enough to be safe, sturdy enough to survive enthusiastic small people. A crocheted ball or stuffed animal in T-shirt yarn will last considerably longer than one in a finer, more delicate yarn.
Macrame. Whilst we also stock a dedicated macrame cord range for more traditional knotting projects, T-shirt yarn works beautifully for chunkier, more relaxed macrame pieces.
For most T-shirt yarn projects, a crochet hook between 8mm and 12mm gives good results — tight enough to produce a firm fabric for a basket, loose enough to let the yarn move for a bag. We'd suggest starting with a 10mm hook if you're not sure.
For larger, more open projects — wall hangings, loose-woven pieces, very big baskets — you can go up to a 25mm hook, which produces a much more open weave and an almost loom-woven texture. It's also faster, if speed is a priority.
We stock a range of crochet hooks, including the sizes you'll need for T-shirt yarn projects.
Because it's a recycled material, T-shirt yarn doesn't behave with the total consistency of a commercially produced synthetic yarn. Here are the things worth knowing:
Joins. You may occasionally find a join in the yarn — a point where one strip of fabric has been connected to the next during production. This is normal and not a defect. In a finished basket or bag it's essentially invisible.
Colour variation. Shades can vary slightly between batches, because the colours come from actual fabric rather than a dye recipe. We work hard to keep colours consistent, but if you're making something where exact colour matching matters, buy enough in one order to finish the project.
Weight variation. Each bobbin provides approximately 100–120m of yarn and typically weighs around 800g, but there can be slight variation. This is the nature of recycled material, and in practice, it rarely affects projects.
Stretch variation. As mentioned above — some bobbins stretch, some don't.
None of these are reasons not to use T-shirt yarn. There are reasons to approach it with the same flexible, curious mindset you'd bring to any material with a proper story behind it.
We stock an extensive range of colours, from solids through to patterns and textured backs. Some current favourites:
Stock changes as new fabric batches come in, so if you see a colour you like the look of, it's worth not leaving it too long. Some shades are genuinely one-offs.
You can browse the full T-shirt yarn collection here, where you'll see everything currently in stock. And if you'd like to try a few colours together without committing to full bobbins, our T-shirt yarn bundles offer three balls per pack at a saving — ideal for multi-colour projects or for experimenting before settling on favourites.
If T-shirt yarn has caught your attention but you're also curious about other sustainable options, it's worth knowing that we stock several other yarns made with a similar ethic:
Recycled bottle yarn — made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Surprisingly soft and very robust.
Upcycled aran wool — reclaimed wool fibre re-spun into a new yarn. Warmer than T-shirt yarn and with a completely different character.
Eucalyptus yarn — for something lighter and silkier. Made via a closed-loop production process with almost no chemical waste. Completely different in feel but equally thoughtfully produced.
Recycled DK cotton — for finer work. The same recycled-cotton philosophy as T-shirt yarn, in a weight that suits garments and accessories.
T-shirt yarn is one of those materials that sounds like a novelty until you've worked with it — and then tends to take over a significant portion of your craft shelf. It's fast, forgiving, and satisfying in a very immediate way. A beginner can crochet something genuinely impressive on their first attempt. An experienced crafter can produce something genuinely beautiful with a bit more intention.
Either way, you're working with material that would otherwise have been thrown away. Which, as far as we're concerned, is a very good place to start.
