Do you want to find a use for all those cotton t-shirts (shirts) that you and your family leave aside when they are already very worn out? Now there is a perfect use for them. It is about recycling old T-shirts and being able to make bags for the supermarket, thus helping the environment.
With a couple of easy cuts with your trusty scissors and 2 quick seams on the sewing machine and you’ve got yourself some strong, washable and reusable tote bags perfect for groceries, books, tennis balls, gym clothes or pool supplies – everything you need to carry.
Making bags by reusing old t-shirts.
Necessary materials:
Sturdy cotton t-shirt.
- 3 – 5 pins.
- Pencil or pen.
- Plate for food.
- Pair of scissors.
- Sewing machine.
1. Cutting the sleeves of the shirt.
Choose a soft old shirt and lay it out on a table. Use scissors to cut and remove the sleeves, be sure to leave the seam in place, this keeps your bag strong.
2. Enlarge the neck of the shirt.
Place a plate halfway through the neck opening of the shirt. Trace the outline with your pencil or pen. This will be the cut line to create the opening for your tote bag. Cut along the drawn line.
Turn the inside of the shirt over and pin the bottom of the shirt along the hem and sew the bottom closed.
Use the sewing machine to sew the bottom hem of the shirt closed. Strengthen your tote bag by sewing over this seam a second time.
As a variation you can consider adding a “reinforcement” to the bottom corners and also reinforcing the sleeves.
Another variant to consider. Add pockets using pieces from the cut sleeve and turn them into pockets. These are more decorative than useful but you can make them bigger and deeper too. It will serve to carry some extra objects that you do not want to mix with the other products.
Turn the shirt right side out. You just made your own upcycled tote bag.
As we have already mentioned, this bag is used to fill with groceries, gym clothes, game supplies, library books, etc. Keep it handy in your car. This helps to avoid generating more pollution and garbage.
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