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It’s easy to make yarn out of a pillowcase, and a great way to use those pillowcases you aren’t using on your bed anymore.
I don’t know if you have this problem, but I recently realized we have a lot of pillowcases we don’t actually use. I think it’s because we stop using sheet sets but don’t actually get rid of them. Then I’ll steal the top sheet to make a rug, for example, or another sheet covers our bed to keep the cat hair off, but the pillowcases just stay in the drawer.
Why Make Yarn Out of a Pillowcase?
Making pillowcase yarn is a quick and easy upcycle to make yarn you can use to knit, crochet, weave, make rugs and baskets, whatever you like to do with yarn.
It’s a great way to give those cases new life and give yourself some great machine washable yarn.
Making yarn like this is quick and easy to do, and I’m sure you’ll come up with lots of great uses for it.
Supplies for Making Fabric Yarn
All you really need to make a pillowcase into yarn is a pillowcase and a pair of scissors. I use the Fiskars Amplify RazorEdge fabric scissors. If you want to try to maintain an even width on your yarn as you cut it, you can use a ruler and a washable marking tool to mark your cutting lines.
Alternatively, you can use a rotary cutter with ruler and self-healing mat to make accurate and quick cuts. But cutting pillowcase yarn by hand is totally fine, too.
How to Make Yarn Out of a Pillowcase
The first thing you need to do before you start making pillowcase yarn is to cut off the top hem and the bottom part that closes the pillowcase. You need to have just a loop of fabric without any embellishments or extra thick, folded over parts.
Situate the pillowcase so that there’s a side seam at the top and the bottom of your cutting area. Then fold the bottom edge up so that it’s an inch or so below the top seam.
Begin cutting the pillowcase into strips, cutting from the fold up to just past where you folded up the bottom edge. You want to leave about an inch uncut below the top edge.
Continue across the pillowcase until it has all be been cut into strips.
Unfold the pillowcase so the loops separate and you have the uncut strip of fabric on top.
Start at one end and cut at an angle to make the beginning end of your yarn.
Cut across the pillowcase at an angle (rather than straight across the gap; consult the picture to see what I mean) to release each loop into a strip. If it help you see where to cut you can roll up the ball of yarn as you go, which can make it easier to see how the yarn is forming.
If you accidentally cut straight across, you’ll end up with a loop that’s not attached to anything. Just start again on the pillowcase portion that remains.
When you get to the end you’ll have a single loop left; just cut at an angle as before to get to the yarn end.
Roll the yarn into a ball.
Now that you know how easy it is to make yarn out of a pillowcase I’m sure you’ll never have the problem of extra pillowcases lying around again!
