How To Make Fabric Tinsel
If you are looking for a quick, easy, simple, and frugal way to decorate your Christmas tree this year, then what better than to upcycle old baby clothes or t-shirts or use up your knit scraps to make fabric tinsel. This fabric tinsel is a great Christmas craft idea to make with children too as there is no sewing involved and not even any glue, so no messy clean up after which is always a bonus!
What You Will Need:
- Wool or string to your desired tinsel length - Approx 20ft/6 metres is a good amount to cover a 5-foot/1.5m tree,
- Old T-shirts, baby clothes or knit fabric scraps - The more you have, the fuller your tinsel will look, so, for example, you might want up to a couple of dozen baby grows/vests for 6 metres.
How To Make It:
First deconstruct any clothing you are using - remove all buttons, hems, trimmings, poppers etc. Then cut the knit fabric into strips of approx. 1-2cm (1/2 inch to an inch) by approx. 8-15cm (3 -6 inches). I like the variety of sizes as it makes it look less uniform and more fluffy but you can make them all the same if you prefer.
Tie a big knot in both ends of the wool or string so that the fabric strips can't come off at the ends.
Take your fabric strips and start tying them with a single knot around the wool or string. Once you have plenty along the length of it, you can start pushing them together to make space for more.
The more tightly you can push them together and fill the spaces, the more full and fluffy your fabric tinsel will look.
Then it's ready to go on the Christmas tree!
What a fantastic way to use up old scraps, and such a fun version of a Christmas tree garland! Love it! 🙂 Lisa
Thank you so much! I’m so pleased you liked it!