Turn Your Old T-shirts Into Bags

Using this simple, no-sew technique, you can make yourself a new bag using old clothes!

1. The Scoop Neck

You will need:

Start by laying your scoop neck t-shirt flat out onto a clean work surface.

Line up the front and the back of the t-shirt as perfectly as you can, and use the scoop on the front of the t-shirt as a template to cut out the back.

(If your t-shirt is scooped on the front AND back, then you can skip this step - go you!)

Starting at the underarm, cut a straight line up towards the shoulder, removing the sleeve. If the seam of your t-shirt is straight, then you can cut along the seam, leaving the stitching side on your bag.

This next step is optional, it just adds a little extra to the look of your bag.

Cut out two strips of fabric from your offcuts (either from the back or the sleeves). OR, you can choose a completely new fabric and cut out two strips from there, it really is up to you.

Using one of the strips, tie it around the top of one of your bag handles, and repeat.

This next step is where your bag takes shape!

Turn your t-shirt inside out, and line up the front and back of the fabric along the base.

Considering how deep you want your bag to be, cut both the front and back of the t-shirt at the same time, creating around 15- 20 strips. The deeper you want you bag to be, the shorter the length of the strips - width doesn't matter so much with this design, but don't make them too thick.

Tie the two layers (front and back) of each strip together in a double knot, as seen in the above photo.

Turn your bag back around so that the knots you have just made are on the inside, and voila! You have yourself a t-shirt bag!

If you would like to try this next design, you will need an old vest top...

2. The Vest Top

You will need:

The beads are optional, but if you do want to use them, make sure the holes are not too small, as you're going to want to get fabric through the middle. As a reference, the holes in the blue beads seen in the above photo are too small...I discovered this later.

First of all, remove all labels -carefully- as the back will not be cut out as per the other design.

Turn the vest top around so that the side seams are directly down the middle. This makes the vest top straps look less like vest top straps and more like handles. If you like, you can iron down the sides to keep this shape a little easier.

Cut strips from the bottom of the vest, cutting both the front and back of the fabric at the same time. You can make the strips as long or as short as you like, though don't make them too short as you will need to tie them.

Try to make each strip the same length. To do this I used a sheet of paper, but you can use anything straight to lie across your vest as a guide for when to stop.

Tie the front and back of each strip together.

If using beads, separate the strips you would like to attach your beads to, if only to make things less complicated for you. Each strip should be just one layer of fabric.

Make a knot below each bead to secure it in place.

Remove the hem stitching from each one of your strips of fabric. This gives the bag more of a fringe look, but again, this is optional.

And here is how it looks!

I hope you have enjoyed making your own t-shirt bags, personally I think they are a cute way to upcycle old clothes.

Come back on Tuesday, where I will be posting a chocolatey Easter treat!

To join in, you will need a bowl, chocolate and a roll of cling film.

See you then!

Sian