Frugal Babe

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A Shopping Bag That Used To Be A Shirt

April 20, 2010 By Frugal Babe

A few weeks ago, I was shopping with a friend.  When she checked out, she pulled a tiny little bundle out of her purse, shook it out, and viola! she had a nice big tote bag for carrying her purchases.  I always use reusable bags, but none of them are small enough to fit in my purse, and I often forget them in the car.  When that happens, I end up pushing the cart out to my car, loading up the bags, and then pushing the cart back to the store.  Having a bag in my purse all the time would definitely be a convenient solution.

Last week, I was sorting though my closet, looking for things to give away.  I came across a shirt that I never wear, and added it to my donation stack.  Then I noticed how lightweight the material was, and how easy it would be to make it into a bag.  The project took me about six minutes.  I cut off the sleeves to make it into a tanktop (no need to hem anything, as the sleeves had been serged to the body of the shirt, and I just cut right next to the seam).  The shoulder straps end up being the handles of the bag.  Then I turned it inside-out and sewed back and forth several times across the bottom of the shirt, to close up the bottom of the bag.  Now I have a very lightweight bag that wads up into a tiny ball and fits in my purse.

The reason I never wore this shirt was because it was too baggy and shapeless.  Not such good qualities in a shirt, but perfect for a carry-all.

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It’s hard to tell from that picture (it just looks like a shirt!), but the bottom is sewn shut.  Here’s a side view, so that you can see how the shoulder straps of the shirt become handles for the bag:

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This was a very simple project that required almost nothing in terms of sewing skills.  If you don’t have a sewing machine, you could sew the bottom of the shirt closed by hand.  It would take a bit longer, but it’s still an easy task.  I had fun with this, and thought maybe some of you would too.  Have fun!

Filed Under: hobbies, just my life, organic living 8 Comments

Comments

  1. Mrs. Money says

    April 20, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    I do the same thing!

    http://ultimatemoneyblog.com/make-your-own-cloth-grocery-bags-out-of-old-t-shirts

    It’s so addicting!

    Reply
  2. Danielle says

    April 20, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    I can’t sew and I think even I could manage this. Great idea!

    Reply
  3. Cate says

    April 20, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    What a great idea! I’ll definitely keep this in mind the next time I have a shirt die on me. I’m really good about bringing our reusable bags to the grocery store or the farmers’ market, but not so good about remembering to bring them to Target or Walgreens (which is to say, they’ve NEVER seen the inside of Target or Walgreens). Something I could ball up and stuff in the diaper bag would be great!

    Reply
  4. sam says

    April 21, 2010 at 7:41 am

    Wonderful idea!
    My son has outgrown some shirts & I could probably do this with a couple of them.

    Reply
  5. Mrs Smith says

    April 21, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    Our town has been making these for fundraisers! We collect children’s shirts, which are a great size for bags, and sew them up to make unique bags that people love! It is a great way to recycle and raise mone!

    Reply
  6. Mary says

    April 22, 2010 at 11:17 am

    I”ve made a ton of these tote bags using old t-shirts. However, I rarely use them because they are not well suited for heavy items. In other words, they make lousy book bags and are useless for carrying home a 10 lb. bag of potatoes. However, if you have lightweight items to carry, it will work quite well.

    Is the shirt you used made of woven fabric or is it a t-shirt? I find the t-shirt tote bags too bulky to fold up into a purse.

    Reply
  7. Frugal Babe says

    April 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm

    Mary,
    The shirt I used was a very lightweight, almost see-through fabric. It definitely won’t work as a library bag or grocery bag, but I always remember to take my stash of heavy canvas bags into those places. I needed a bag that would fit in my purse to use when I’m at thrift stores and places like Target. This bag will be great for carrying clothes (my guilty pleasure at thrift stores!) and other lightweight stuff. I’m not sure what the fabric is, but it’s much lighter than a t-shirt.

    Reply
  8. Shelley C says

    June 7, 2010 at 9:02 am

    About 20 years ago, I made myself some totes out of ripstop nylon I purchased for $1/yard from a sale table at a fabric store. They were very lightweight and super durable. It took a little more sewing than the t-shirt tote, but they lasted for years and I could put several in my purse with virtually no added weight. I kept a bunch in the car, too.

    Reply

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