Recycle old T-shirts by turning them into scarves

As the season warms up and the woolies get returned to storage, it's a fine time to craft a scarf that will keep you warm while not warming you up. It's the T-shirt scarf, and it's made in a snap from old, neglected T-shirts.

Who doesn't have a cache of those scrunched in the back of a dresser drawer or high on a closet shelf?

Reclaim these outcasts by recycling them into T-shirt scarves. As children outgrow their darling Ts, you can make them scarves by repurposing their favorites, too.

Carol Schneider, a New York public-relations agent for a large book publisher, crafts scarves, children's wear and purses in her spare time. She hit upon this nifty T-shirt scarf while cruising the Internet, and made it her own by using whimsical, color-loaded Ts.

Samples of her "Reclaimed Tee Scarves" may be viewed online at Carol Schneider Designs (listed under "recession specials" in her scarves product section).

Her scarves for adults measure at least 56 inches long. Since Schneider scavenges thrift stores for her T-shirts, no two scarves are alike.

You can make Schneider's scarves on the cheap: Your own castoffs and the kids' outgrown T-shirts will do, ensuring endless possibilities in color and pattern combinations.

Schneider suggests combining T-shirt swatches by theme: sports, food, music, the arts or cartoon characters.

She sells her children's scarves with jumbo safety (or diaper) pins so they can be attached to the backs of children's jackets; you don't want these clever scarves to get lost.