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 
I’m getting ready to Guest Speak as “3 R’s: LIVING GREEN” seminar…and planned on showing the “tee shirt tote bag” using the quick sewing machine stitch to close the bottom of the t-shirt bags. But THIS is genius! THANKS so much…and hope you don’t mind that I include this method when I share with ‘the class.” I will tell everyone where I got the idea…and even include your web address for the tutorial…. THANKS and keep up the great ideas…
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
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Sounds awesome, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
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awesome
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Looks easy. I’m not sure that I could do it though.
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hello there! thank-you for sharing an idea on how to make a sonic bag of yours! so i may now used again my unused shirts turning into bags! great……..! its almost christmas! these would be my gift of my bestfriend!haha
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hey arejay rara, look friend i dont want to recieve this kinda present my friend.. i cant wear this shirt lol .. if you want to give some, give something that i can wear ok coz i am poor i am naked ^^
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you are naked but have a computer?
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Hey, c’mon. Where is the love?
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can u do pillows
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good Shirts like this doesn’t need to recycle.. you can still use this kinda shirt … it is still look good to me.. you can give it to someone who needs shirt .. that’s the most effective and yet helpful way to recycle the shirt
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Its for those of us who do not fit into these shirts anymore and do not want to part w/ them. I think this is a great idea. I have about 4 tees that I am going to transform. 🙂
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I too have “outgrown” some stuff and I am making these today! I also found several cool Cereal Logo tees in a lost duffle bag, that no one claimed of course, and I love logo tees. And the cereal logos are perfect for grocery shopping! Love this No-sew version!
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Really …have you been to goodwill lately ? Chill out ..why are you even on this website then?
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but when your daughter needs a new bag and you don’t have the money to buy one, making one with items you already had is a terrific option 🙂
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I think this person is absolutely right. I think recycling one or two sentimental shirts is a good idea but maybe donate the rest, I donate a lot of my clothes and my children’s clothes to homeless shelters and other charities that directly distribute clothes to people who need it, not salvation army or goodwill. I can see how someone who deals with a lot of poverty would see someone cutting up perfectly good shirts and have a little heartache about it.
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But who are any of you to say what someone should or should not do with their clothes. Really? If I have one hundred t shirts and I decide to make one hundred bags out of them that would be MY business because they are MY t shirts. She didn’t have to share this craft at all. Enjoy it or move on. Sheesh! (BTW~ Thanks for sharing this idea. I stumbled upon this site looking for ideas for recycling tees. :~D )
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you all have valid points. Giving to those in need is a good idea, if the person hadn’t thought of that, and is wanting to, there is nothing wrong with providing that option to people, but people that decide to keep their shirts as you have and recycle them in this fashion, there is nothing wrong with that either. I have a few shirts, I bought and own and have a right to do with what i want. I donate often, but there are shirts that I am selfish with and I still love, but cannot wear, and I figure, what a great way to save money, and keep what i love. you both have valid points, but should be less offensive in stating your opinions to each other.
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Yeah…think again before “giving it to someone in need”. Unless you hand the shirt to someone, you have no idea where it ended up. 80% of clothing donations end up at textile recycling companies and 30% of those clothing items recycled end up as industrial cloth. So this is a MUCH better alternative where someone else doesn’t profit. Do a little research and know where your stuff is going.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/05/21/185596830/the-global-afterlife-of-your-donated-clothes
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I really love these crafts! Thanks!
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i couldn’t find a safety-[in so i used a knitting needle lol
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I really liked your no sew idea! Going to use it with my Girl Scout Troop. Thank you!
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I think your a genius!!!!!!!!!
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This would be absolutely perfect for the beach.
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Oh my goodness! I’ve been looking for a good present idea for my masses of friends that doable om mu budget, and I pretty sure this is it! Great idea. 🙂
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Cute! Ill use white t’s and draw on the finished product with a fabric marker!:)
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If you used a sleeveles T-shirt, you could just sew (or tie) up the bottom and bob’s-your-uncle! All done! (I’m English – hence the wierd expression!)
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Just made my 1st one for my daughter and she thought I was the coolest mom because I could make a bag out of a tshit!! Thanks for sharing!!!
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This is great! we really need this around the house!
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I am so tired these days!
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What a great tutorial. You’ve explained everything really clearly.
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Great idea!
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love this idea!!
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oh my gosh! I love you for this !
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that iz awesome! i luv the idea
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Very good idea, man. You can also make one w/o having to use any materials other than the shirt. I personally make mine like this and I adapted this idea from a YouTube video that I saw for making a no-sew pillow cover. All you need to do is (instead of using safety pins) cut horizontal slits at the bottom of the shirt and tie them together. I find this method much better if I want to put very small objects in the bag and not have them fall through the hole(s). Pretty cool, though.
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Very cool idea! You can also make one w/o using any other materials than the t-shirt. I adapted this idea from a YouTube video that I saw on how to make a no-sew pillow cover. All you need to do (w/o safety pins) is turn the shirt inside out, cut 2-inch long horizontal slits toward the top of the shirt then tie double knots and turn it back the right way. I find this method much better if I want to put very small objects (like rocks or marbles) inside the bag and not have them slip through the hole(s) in the bottom which seems to be my only problem with this craft. Other than that, it is a good idea.
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Fantastic idea! Thank you for recyle and reuse of old t-shirts!
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OMG I love this Idea! its great! I am going to make one now! thanks so much for sharing!
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Very nice! I am trying to sell & donate my old clothes as much as possible, but for a few more raggedy items, I will be making them into bags… after I patch up the holes. Lol.
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I made this for my daughter out of one of her toddler tees… she then asked me to make a skirt for her Barbie from one of the sleeves. I did, using the same drawstring method with the hem of the sleeve! Worked awesome!
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Used this for a 1st grade recycled craft fair- perfect!
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Just made mine with a super large shirt (3x) and it turned out like a messenger bag! I loved this tutorial. 🙂
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I agree…Definitely an upcycle project! holes in the pits, stains in the pits…Thank You SO MUCH!!! I don’t sew either 🙂
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take them to a charity shop. much better idea
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I bought them all at charity shops 😉
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omg this is such a great idea i was just browsing and saw this i’m going to do this like right now lol thanks for posting your ideas
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Awesome! My Girl Scout Troop is soooo doing this!
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Hi, thanks for the tutorial. I made this in a few minutes and plan on making more for grocery shopping and holding all of my plastic bags.
I turned the shirt inside out to tie off the holes in the bottom. The cords don’t show and you are so right about the bag being sturdy.
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I just made one of these to hold yarn for my knitting, so if I’m out and about I can still knit comfortably ^_^
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love this! going to make them now and will show them off at market today!!
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This is SO cool! My daughter (13) is excited to make one!!
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Great Idea, not to crafty but i’m gonna try this. Thanks for sharing
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This is so cool! I have a bunch of T-shirts from camps and groups I was a part of, but never wear the shirts. This is a great way to keep the shirts & memories and put them to use! 🙂 Thank you!
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I did this, and I absolutely love it! 🙂 I’ve made two in the past thirty minutes hehe. I had a thought..if you do this same process with the shirt inside-out and then put it right side out when you’re finished, you don’t have that buldge on the bottom of the bag.
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I love this idea, very easy to do! Now I have more recycled grocery bags for free! Also good for holding kids’ toys. As for all the other people longing for the sonic t-shirt: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. No need to insult the creator for something she no longer valued.
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susahnya
very ugly like baby
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so cool
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toooooo HARD i am A ReTarD!!!!!!!!
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Great idea…thanks for sharing!
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Ugh I did it and realized there was no bottom hem:(
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You can cut strips along the bottom, tie them with “matching strip” on the opposite side, and voila!! (google “Michaels t-shirt bag and you will see the directions and a few pictures.) Good luck!
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how cut, great ideal. thanks for sharing.
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what a cute idea – thanks this will be at least 2 Christmas gifts
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