T-shirt Recycled

January 13, 2013 -- Day 13

Hey Guys! 

Wow, that is a lot of 13's today!! Anywho... today I am going to show you a cheap, and easy alternative to those expensive store bought re-usable bags. This project will be more valuable to some then to others, for example, my readers from Bellingham that have to bring their own bags or buy bags when shopping, this will be awesome for you, for the rest of you, this is a cool way to be green, and will also allow you to use that t-shirt you have been holding onto for years on end, but can't really wear anymore. I am going to hold out on you to show you the final product!!

What you need: An old t-shirt, scissors, a large quilting square or plate, rotary cutter (optional- but suggested)

First take your t-shirt turn it inside-out and cut the sleeves off right at the seam, but keep the seam intact, this will reinforce the handles.

Your 'T' will now look like a work out shirt.

Take your quilting square, plate, or what ever you want to use and center it. This is going to create the opening to the bag, so make it as big as you see fit. I made mine a bit bigger so it will hold anything!

Use your rotary cutter, or scissors to cut out the shape. If you use scissors I suggest first marking where to cut first.

While it is still inside out, place or pin the bottom of the shirt together and hem it shut. It may be a good idea to do a double stitch at this point.

If you really want to get fancy, you can fold your corners and sew perpendicular to the hem line. 

And there you have it, a re-usable shopping bag. (Thanks to my cute husband for holding it up for me!)

Nice large opening to hold all kinds of good stuff!!

This would also be a great way to make candy bags for Halloween, gym bag, book tote. If you use a T-shirt without a picture, you can add one with the DIY screen printing technique we tried a couple days ago. The possibilities are endless!! Here is a pic of the original pin I saw.
 

Over all this was super easy. It would be great for the pre-teen and older age group, or anyone who can sew in a straight line. If you really wanted to get creaitive you could use the old sleeves to create pockets, or you can use ribbon to clean up the edges, but I think it is great as is!

Let me know what you think!

~Kelsy