Steps and materials

Materials

T-shirt (if you are not willing to sacrifice a shirt from your personal wardrobe, goodwill and other thrift stores have tons of options for low prices)
Scissors
Ruler
Washable marker

Step 1

Cut the sleeves off. To make the cuts identical, you can fold the T-shirt in half and cut them all at once. However, if the fabric is too thick, cut one sleeve, fold it over and cut the other sleeve the same, using the cut-off side as a guide.

Step 2

Flip the T-shirt inside out and cut around the collar, creating an oval opening. If needed, the back can be cut lower to make a bigger opening for the back. Make sure to leave enough of the shoulder and body fabric, as these will make up the handles and body of the bag.

Step 3

After determining how deep you want the bag to be, mark where you want the bottom to be. Leave at least two inches at the bottom for ease and success in closing. Mark a line straight across in washable marker. An optional but helpful detail is to mark a spot every half to three-quarters of an inch, to make cutting the fringe easier.

Step 4

Starting in the crease, cut up to the line you marked. If you have them already measured out, cut from the bottom opening of the shirt up to the tick mark, and if not, eyeball it. If your fabric is thin enough, cutting through two layers of fabric is a great way to save time.

Step 5

Taking one front and one back fringe-piece, tie them together. Go down the line and tie each, but make sure they are only single ties, because we will need them as long as possible. In groups of three, take the middle knot and, with the fringe, tie them to the left and right knots. Repeat this pattern down the line until the last set. This should help seal up any holes that would allow stuff to fall out of the bag.

Sustainable reusable bags are a no-brainer replacement for plastic. Made with a few simple steps, they can keep plastics and pollution out of the environment. (photo by Tess Frey)

Turn the bag inside out. The knots should be inside the body of the bag now, and the bottom should be all closed up.

Stories Using This Infobox

Craft corner: T-shirt tote bags

The BluePrint Online

The BluePrint Online

The BluePrint Online