Tutorial time! I got a gig teaching a recycled t-shirt project at the library a few months ago, with a request for a recycled tee bag – the only bags I’d made from tees in the past had required sturdy sewing, and I didn’t want hand-sewing to be the only thing holding the bottom closed in a class version of the bags, so I started brainstorming about some kind of hand-sewing-friendly or no-sew bag idea…. and here’s what I came up with!
The simplest version of these bags is great for smaller tees, or the more light-weight kind of girl-tees – just turn the bottom of the shirt into a drawstring and tie it closed! As you can see, even with a not huge tee, this will still leave a significant hole in the bottom of your bag, but for purposes like grocery shopping, this size hole shouldn’t really matter…
But to make smaller holes, just make more than one of them! Here’s a bag bottom with 2 holes:
And now for the actual tutorial – for this one, with the step-by-step, I will be making the bottom with 3 holes. So, start with a t-shirt that you don’t wear anymore, or a fun one you found at a thrift store. Besides a tee, you’ll also need scissors and a safety pin. That’s it!
Cut the sleeves off, but try to make a somewhat straight line, and go in a bit from the seam – these lines will be the sides of your straps:
Cut some strips from those sleeve pieces – about half an inch wide, the length of one time around a sleeve is good, and as many strips as the number of holes you’ll be making in your bag bottom. (I’ve made bags with 1, 2, and 3 holes, but I haven’t tried more than that.) Pull the ends of the strips to stretch them out and make them curl in:
Cut the neck out to become your bag’s opening – the way you cut this can depend on your tee’s picture (if there is a picture), and also the shape you want your bag. Just make sure you cut a big enough opening to fit things through, for a functional bag:
You could make it rounded, V-shaped, or squared like this one:
Now the top/straps part is done, time for the bottom. Snip slits in the hem part of the tee bottom – as many slits as you want holes. 3 slits, below, is for 3 holes, for a single hole, like the yellow one at the top, just cut one slit, and for 2 holes, snip 2 slits. The slits should be equally spaced from each other, but the spacing doesn’t need to be exact – I just eyeballed my slit placement, no measuring:
Now stick a safety pin through the end of one of those strips you made, and start running it through the hem, through one of the slits:
Run it through to the next slit (or all the way around and back to the beginning, if you’re making a single hole) and pull the cord so it’s centered-ish:
Tie the hole closed as tightly as you can, and tie a tight knot:
Now repeat those steps for the remaining sections, one slit to the next, tie tightly. This is after the second hole is closed:
For an ultra sturdy bag bottom, tie one cord strand from one hole together with one strand from the hole next to it, tightly, and repeat for each strand (as many of these knots as the number of holes you have; ignore this step if you’re making a single hole), so that the holes are all tied to each other.
Now, you can choose whether you want the t-shirt cord ties hanging down at the bottom, or hidden on the inside. To hide them inside, bring them through the center, then tie bows on the inside so they don’t fall back through. Or, tie bows on the outside if you prefer (or you could just cut the cords short and skip the bows):
My finished Sonic bag!
The 1-hole version of this project takes more like 5 minutes, but the more holes you have, the longer it takes (by a few minutes) – it’s my favorite kind of project: 100% recycled materials (in this case, just the tee and nothing else!), minimal tools, quick+easy, and a super useful finished product!
I made these for everyone in my family as extra bonus xmas gifts – my mom just told me she’s been using hers all the time and they are stronger than she would have expected. I even used my family’s bags to wrap their gifts in, to save on paper wrapping waste and because it looked fun!
I failed to show you this idea before the holidays, but you can always save it away in your memory (or bookmarks) for your next gift-giving occasion. I hope you love this project as much as I do! Now go and make lots of them so you’ll never be without a reusable shopping bag again!
Lee Does Stuff 
What an awesome idea, Lee!
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wonderful !!!!thank you!!!
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This is super fun! I’m gonna link up at Dollar Store Crafts later this week!
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Way cool! I’m lovin’ this.
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So easy! You rock!
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I love it! I’ve made the kind that require sewing, but since my machine is on the fritz I’m happy to read about an easier way!
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Awesome Tutorial!!! I can’t wait to make one!
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This is totally brilliant! You are totally brilliant for thinking this up 🙂 I may have to make a few of these.
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Nice tutorial. Now if only I was a bit less sentimental about my favorite t-shirts. Maybe I could try it on some of my less loved shirts.
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fascinating! i love this project so much! can’t wait to find a stray t-shirt so I an try it. I just may use them as giveaways….thanks again!
Marsha Spaniel
~spinalfusion~
http://www.spinalfusion.etsy.com
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I have a few hoodies that shrunk the the wash, it’s heavier material would it work for those?
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They would sort of work, but because they’re thicker, the holes would be bigger… so you’d only want to make them if you’re planning on using them for things that are big enough not to fall through the holes.
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you can always sew the bottom if you had to or use liquid stitch.
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You could always lay something in the bottom (like maybe the other sleeve you cut off) as a liner to prevent things from falling through the hole. It requires a little bit more time but you could even loosley hand stitch the other sleeve in a contrasting color like a patch.
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You could always line the inside of the bag with duct tape to close the holes up. Then blow dry the tape to make sure it stays in place. 🙂
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But then it’s not washable.
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you could always try making multiple holes on the bottoms so that they are smaller holes.
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With the hoodies, I think they’d make great gym bags! I might just have to do that now 🙂
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pure genius. i can’t wait to make one!
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This has got to be one of the cleverest ideas I have seen in ages. So simple, yet I would have NEVER thought of it. I think I’ll make one tonight.
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I’ve already made 4, because they are that quick and easy to make! My sisters love them, and I use mine to store small knitting projects! Thanks Lee!
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totally love this tutorial! thanks!
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Seeing these bags was a first for me, Lee. Thanks for posting such a unique and original craft post. Can’t wait to try this one.
Take care!
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Love love love this project ! Thank you Lee!!!
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Love love love this project ! Thank you Lee!!!
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Hi! These are so fun! I made two this weekend and blogged about them today 🙂 Here is the link if you’d like to see: http://yellowbirdyellowbeard.blogspot.com/2011/02/oh-monday.html
Thanks!
Janee
yellowbirdyellowbeard.blogspot.com
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Thank you so much! This is an AWESOME craft!
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I can’t tell you how much I love this idea! I’m from Australia and the state we live in made it illegal for shops to give out plastic shopping bags back in 2009. You can buy an ugly, generic, reusable bag at the store for $1.00 or you can spend a lot more and buy really fancy ones. I LOVE the idea of turning my old (yet very much adored) t-shirts into bags for when I go to the market. So much more practical and way cuter than the ones from the store. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
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I am very interested in the idea of making those stupid plastic shopping bags illegal ( damned oil companies). Would you be able to find the legislation language that was used in that “bill”? I may like to leave this legislation as my legacy to my fellow Pennsylvanians in the USA. I have metastatic breast cancer and my brain tumors are getting worse. If I could get a movement of recycling and show people that one person can make a difference it would make me feel like I did something for the greater good! You can contact me at memethewonderdog@yahoo.com
Thank you so much Alex, I hope you get this!
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Hoping you got the info you inquired about. Blessings
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I live in Seattle, WA, and plastic bags are now being taxed. The result is more people using re-useable bags, and fewer stores even offering plastic bags at all. Its a start!
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Every time I’m in Seattle I forget about that- but I think it’d be better to just get used to carrying one here up north… Honestly, these bags look so cute I’d probably just carry them around instead of a purse and have it with me at the grocery store already…
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And they are washable!!
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I made three last night! I chose to try with four holes, as I wanted to use them as purses. Let me tell you this was such a great idea! I have a had a bag of favorite tshirts that Id wanted to make into a quilt, but this is just seemed so much easier, and people can see the bags now too, rather than a blanket. Thank you so much for posting this!!!
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Very clever! I have tons of nieces that will love this project! I will enjoy doing it with them…love the gift wrapping idea too. love it
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coolio
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Very clever! Can’t wait to make and use some.
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i love this idea!!! great job! keep up the good work! 🙂
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This is a great idea!
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I was googling craft ideas for a Mom and Tot group that I help run and this is perfect! You are uber creative! And I love the pricetag 😉 Thanks for taking the time to post this!!!
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I was googling craft ideas for a Mom and Tot group that I help run and this is perfect! You are uber creative! And I love the pricetag 😉 Thanks for taking the time to post this!!!
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Uber creative?
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It’s a German word for above, over, or across. It’s mostly used now-a-days to describe something as “very/really (whatever)”. In this case, uber creative is meaning very, or really creative. Hope that helps. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cber
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Awesome idea ! Thank you for sharing !
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This is so good! Made my afternoon, thank you 😀
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What a great idea. A use for all those t-shirts you don’t want to wear anymore.
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I am sooooo stealing this!
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I will be using this design with my Cub Scouts tonight. I’m guessing they will be a BIG hit!
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I’m going to make one of these to use as a bag for my yoga mat!
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this is si cool i had a project in recycling stuff and this is the thing im searching for im surely gonna get A+ o this test thank you
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What a great idea! And such a cool Christmas present for family! I can’t wait to try it out. 🙂
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what an awesome idea and a great tutorial. thanks!
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thanks 🙂
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Wow, this took me less than 10 minutes to accomplish. I added some funny pins and I dangled a piece sign from a necklace I once had from the ties, it really is stronger than you think… this purse. It’s amazing and I love it! I used a Jack Daniel Black Tee I usually wear. (:
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I just made on in a few minutes and it holds at least 12 cans of soup…
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I made one today! this is so clever and fun! I’m going to make them for my friends too!!!
(Oh, and if you cut the bottom with 1 inch or so slits and then cut out every other flap, it makes the hole smaller, If your only doing one hole :))
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BRILLIANT!!! Now I know just what to do with my fav tie-dye tshirt that became too ragged to wear which I’ve been saving to make into something! Thanks!
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OH, THAT IS TOO FUN!! I’m gonna do this right away.
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OH, THAT IS TOO FUN!! I’m gonna do this right away.
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OH, THAT IS TOO FUN!! I’m gonna do this right away.
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This is being added to my teen summer craft list at my library. Perfect for our folk art theme program. Thanks for sharing.
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This is being added to my teen summer craft list at my library. Perfect for our folk art theme program. Thanks for sharing.
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This is being added to my teen summer craft list at my library. Perfect for our folk art theme program. Thanks for sharing.
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