DIY: T-Shirt Tote Bags
August 31, 2010 by Brenda
Filed under Family, Featured Posts, Things To Do
Here is another fab upcycling project from the fab Terracycle team.
Recycled t-shirt tote bags are fun, easy DIY projects
I tried my hand at the DIY t-shirt tote bag, using a slightly different method that calls for one t-shirt. T-shirts with logos or front designs are fun to use.
Start with one (used but clean and in good condition) t-shirt, laid flat and even on a table. Just as in Scrap Happy Time’s tutorial, the size of your t-shirt will determine the size of your bag.
Cut off both arms and cut out the neck, removing the sewn seams.
Turn the shirt inside out and line up the bottom of the t-shirt. Using a sewing machine (with your choice of stitch style), sew the bottom of the shirt closed. This will be the bottom of your bag.
Before moving onto the final step, examine the bag with the bottom stitched closed. You may want to trim extra fabric off of the arm and neck openings, making sure that the handle openings (arms) and top bag opening (neck) are sufficient in size.
On each of the shoulders, fold the fabric inward once from each side so that each shoulder is tripled in fabric. Run a stitch on both sides of the original shoulder seams to secure the folds. The shoulders are the handles of the bag and the tripled fabric provides extra handle reinforcement.
You have another finished t-shirt tote bag! In addition to being easy to make, t-shirt bags fold up compactly so you can keep one in your purse or car and always have a reusable bag available. They make great travel bags for kids’ toys and are even more unique as gift bags, doubling as gift wrapping and part of the gift as well.
Related posts:
- Re-usuable Shopping Bags
- Eco Party Bags
- Onya Bags from One Green Earth
- School Eco Project with Go Green Bags
- TGF Likes…Bambino Merino Sleeping Bags
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