recycled t-shirt bag

Do you hold on to old t-shirts? Shirts that remind you of a great time in your life, but are frankly too small/big/unflattering/awkward to wear anymore? A quick cut & stitch helped me lessen my nostalgic t-shirt load, & I got a cute bag out of it!

First let me start off by saying I love this shirt. I bought it at my first Antony & the Johnsons show, which is a day I never want to forget. The illustration is a piece Antony did for an art exhibition, & it represents a ghost. I love the illustration - but the shirt is too small. So it's been sitting unworn in my closet for a few years now.

But not anymore! Get ready for a serious no-brainer - this up-cycling took all of five minutes. The t-shirt bag project has been done a bunch of ways - this is how I did mine.

You'll only need a few things:

• An old t-shirt
• Scissors
• A needle & thread (or a sewing machine)

First, lay your t-shirt out. Cut the collar & sleeves out as shown above. Top done!

For the bottom, turn your t-shirt inside out. Sew a seam along the bottom, just above the original hem line of the shirt. I curved my seam up along the sides, but this isn't necessary. Turn your t-shirt right side out. Bag done!

What did I say? Was that a no-brainer or what? I'm adding this project to my reusable shopping bag pile so I can carry my groceries home in style. Plus it folds up really small, so I'm more likely to remember to take it to the grocery store (or not, let's get real. Those reusable bags are darned hard to remember to bring along). 

There are a zillion ways to transform a t-shirt, what's your favorite?

xoxo, 

-m.e.

Related // Transform your t-shirt with a stencil.