The ups and downs of jersey yarn

If you open pinterest and search for jersey yarn or t-shirtyarn your screen will instantaneously be flooded with hundreds of chunky crochet projects! One of them has been at the top of my to do list for quite a while.

I loved the idea of stitching up a doily shaped rug, specially if made from recycled t-shirt cotton. However, to source the right kind of used t-shirts wasn't easy (I guess I have to find a better charity shop!) so I decided to buy jersey cotton instead. It is pricey, even on ebay... Knowing that my regular needles wouldn't be up to the task I also bought a massive 9.00mm one! And so it begun... My mother always said: "Don't make your stitch to tight nor to loose!", but for as much as I tried to please her it would always be tight. Well, the problem is - if you work jersey yarn with a 9.00mm needle and a tight stitch you are going to get 2 things:

1. Blisters.

2. Stretched fabric.

The giant doily was looking terrible.  

Tip: Make your work easier without compromising the style by cutting the yarn in half!

 Deciding to make my job easier, I grabbed a scissor and cut the jersey in half. The cutting process was a bit boring I must admit, but the jersey rolled back in perfectly and I ended up with the double of the material. All in all it was a good idea.

Working with a slightly thinner yarn was much easier. I kept the stitches as loose as possible, but I noticed that jersey has a natural elasticity; so just do your best to make it look good.

The rug is not finished yet. I think it still needs one or two single crochet rows, but it looks very sweet doesn't it?

Giant doily rug.

 PS: I know, I know, the clogs photo is a cliché, but I just had to take it!