Use Those Old T-Shirts To Make Your New Favorite Bathroom Feature

Need to replace your old bathroom mat? Before splurging on something new, you may want to try a fun hack using old t-shirts, instead. Other than the shirts themselves, all you'll need for this hack is a slip-resistant rug pad, and a crochet hook (substitute with a pencil or even a skewer stick). 

First thing first, a note on the materials you'll be using. You'll need around six t-shirts for this. As for the fabric of those, the key thing to remember is that your feet will be going onto your mat. In other words, softer fabrics are key. Your feet will also be wet, or at the very least damp, so absorption is important, too. Natural cotton is by far the most absorbent option. That doesn't rule out your polyester shirts, though — they may be less absorbent, but they'll still do the job if that's all you have. 

Regarding the crochet hook, don't panic if you've never used one or aren't overly keen on buying one. For this hack, you really only need it to help with popping the fabric through the rug pad, so a skewer stick or pencil works just fine. And, speaking of the rug pad, we recommend a grid-style one, like Gorilla Grip's 2-by-3 foot pad, available on Amazon for $10.90, which you can cut smaller if need be. Once you have those three core things, this hack is super simple. 

Start by collecting the shirts you'll be using for your mat. Snip them into strips, roughly 1 inch wide by 5 inches long. If the shirts you're using are different colors, plot out a fun pattern before you get to knotting. Then, all you'll need to do is use your crochet hook or pencil to slide the fabric through the grid of your rug pad and tie the ends together on the up-facing side. That's really it! Say hello to your new, shaggy bathroom rug. 

The great thing about this hack is that it's easy enough to start over if you're not loving how everything looks. If, for instance, your pattern isn't panning out as you hoped, you can rearrange things or even dye the strips of fabric before starting again. It's important to be sure of the fabrics you're using if you do go this route, though: synthetic materials don't take on color the same way as natural fabrics. Luckily, Amazon stocks options at $7.79 for natural fabric dye and $8.31 for synthetic fabric dye. 

One thing to keep in mind before starting this hack is that while it's super easy to do, depending on how fast you work, it can take a while to complete. However, given how mess-free and simple it is, you could work on it while catching up on shows or decompressing after a long day. DIY made easier than ever!