Repurposed T-Shirt Bag

Today marks the first day of a new series on the blog called Frugal Gifts Friday.  Each Friday between now and Christmas, I will be featuring an easy, affordable project that you can make for a Christmas gift this year.  Ready for the first project?  This one is super simple, and only requires scissors, an old t-shirt, and sewing machine.  This is a great project to get rid of old T-shirts, or you can use a new T-shirt if you’d like.

This T-shirt bag is so easy to make, and you’ll be done in less than 10 minutes!  Heavyweight T-shirts work best for this project.  Youth sized large/extra large or adult sized small/medium shirts will create a perfectly sized bag.  I used a youth sized large shirt for my bag.

First you will fold your T-shirt in half, lining up the seams the best you can.

Next, cut the arms and neck of the T-shirt out. The neck opening will become the bag opening, and the arms will become the bag handles.  Keep this in mind when determining how deep you want to make your cuts.

Notice I cut my shirt into a deep V-shape, and cut off the sleeves lower to make sure the cuts matched up evenly on both sides.  I did this to create a large opening so my bag would be functional, and also to make sure the straps would fit over my shoulder.  You can cut the neckline and sleeves shorter if you’d like, it’s your preference.  You can cut the neck out so it’s rounded, V-shaped, or even squared!

All that’s left to do is turn the T-shirt inside out and sew a seam along the bottom of the shirt.  Turn it right side out and you have an awesome new T-shirt bag.  Doesn’t it look great? And wasn’t that super easy?

You can easily personalize this project by using T-shirts with sports team logos, cartoon characters, etc.  Some stores like Old Navy and Five Below have really cute affordable T-shirts that would make great T-shirt bag gifts.  You could give this bag as a gift itself, or fill it with a few candy/small gift items. If you have any additional ideas that would make this T-shift bag an awesome gift, be sure to send me a comment so I can share it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of Frugal Gift Friday, and you’ll come back next week for another easy, affordable gift idea.  I promise it will be easy to make, but still be an excellent gift for your friend or family member.

Shared with:  Pin Junkie Pin Party, What to Do Weekends, Junkin Joe, Think and Make Thursday, Krafty Inspiration Party, Thrifty Thursday Link Party, The Ultimate Pinterest Party, Say G’Day, Wow Me Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesdays