DIY T-Shirt Reusable Shopping Bag
We’re all about living as green a lifestyle as possible. Living green becomes a habit and a way of life. We’ve found it’s rewarding for the planet and for our personal health and wellbeing. I suffer from MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), so we’ve worked hard to eliminate chemicals, preservatives and additives from our home and foods, as well as from the household and personal products we use.
The results? We feel better and live better. And we’re doing our part to keep the planet healthy and beautiful.
One of the easy things we do for the environment is to use reusable shopping bags. It’s very simple to do. We keep reusable bags in both cars. We’re mighty particular about the bags we use, too. They have to be environmentally friendly, which also makes them friendly for me with my MCS. (I have terrible reactions to most plastics.)
Our DIY reusable shopping bag is easy peasy to make. Even kids can make it! All you need is a t-shirt, a pair of scissors, and your good to go! If you have a sewing machine you can stitch the bag closed. But for those who don’t, or for an easy project for the kids, it can be made without. Here we go!
DIY Reusable Shopping Bag
Supplies:
- T-Shirt
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Lay your t-shirt out on a flat surface
- Carefully cut the arms off at the seam with the seam staying on the sleeve
- Using a bowl as a guide, cut out the neckline
- If you’d like, you can now cut the hole a bit more oval
- Decide how deep you want your bag before you close up the bottom. You can turn the bag inside out and sew the bottom shut with a sturdy stretch stitch, or do the no-sew method as follows:
The no-sew method:
- Cut fringe by making diagonal cuts up the t-shirt hem every 1inch. These cuts should be 3 inches deep/long. You can mark the 3 inch mark with a ruler and fabric pen.
- Now tie the fringe into knots as shown
- You can use your bag with the fringe showing on the outside or …
- Simply flip your bag inside outside out for a cleaner look
Using reusable shopping bags is just one of the many ways we do our best to live green.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
That’s such a great idea! This is so much better looking than reusable bags that you buy, and you can’t beat the price! LOL I have to do this.
Jeni Hawkins says
Brilliant! I love reusing things to make them into other useful items! I haven’t tried Toms of Maine products, but would like to!
Jeanette says
That is really cool! I am not the most handy when it comes to sewing, so this is perfect. It’s easy it’s fun and it gives me a way to recycle a couple of my order shirts.
Dawn Lopez says
Craft projects that upcycle are awesome! Plus you are making something that also helps reduce waste since it’s a reusable shopping bag. I think this is a fabulous idea!
Melissa Chapman says
That use of an old shirt to make into a shopping bag is a great idea and takes recycling to the next level. Toms is a nice company and it is one we all should get behind.
Lisa Joy Thompson says
This is such a fun project! We’ve made these a few times at our house! I’m a big fan of Tom’s of Maine. I love their fluoride-free toothpaste!
Shelby G. says
That is very cool, I need to try this sometime. Also, TOMS looks very nice – I’m always looking for good toothpaste. 🙂
Kathy says
That is such an awesome idea. I need to make a few of these. I can’t wait! I think my girls are going to love these as well.
Randi says
I love a good upcycled project! This is such a great way to reuse an old shirt … and actually make it useful again!
Marissa Zurfluh says
I have countless old shirts laying around. This is an amazing way to use them up!
Wendy Polisi says
My girls love doing crafts like this. We will have to try this soon!
Chelley Martinka says
This is such a cute idea for old tshirts! I am definitely going to try it out this weekend at the farmer’s market.
Claudia Krusch says
This is such a cool idea. I have a perfect shirt I could use to make one of these bags. Tom’s of Maine Luminous White Toothpaste sounds like the perfect product for me.
Amy Desrosiers says
Tom’s of Maine is a staple brand in my home. I really love this tee-shirt shirt. Mega cool!!
Amy Desrosiers says
Tom’s of Maine is a staple brand in my home. I really love this tee-shirt shirt. Mega cool!
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
That is just super cool! Instead of throwing old clothes or shirts, I would start recycling into useful stuff like this!
Jessica Terry says
What a neat idea! I love that you can repurpose old clothes and make them new and useful again!
Jessica says
Supporting companies that are environmentally friendly is so important for me and my family, and I love this idea because a lot of reusable shopping bags (especially for groceries) are such an eyesore! I think this is a great way of preserving loved clothing that we can’t wear anymore. Great post! Thanks.