How to Turn an Old T-Shirt into a New Grocery Bag
According to the World Watch Institute, 100 billion plastic bags become trash every year in the U.S. The statistics vary from source to source, but the numbers across the board are staggering.
As far as old, stained shirts filling landfills go, I found no definitive reports, but I'm sure they can be turned to better use than garbage.
For instance, one great idea is to use them to make your own perforated grocery tote (like the ones used to package grapes).
--Michael Singer
HOW TO: Between the Lines posted the following nine easy steps with photos so you can soon give your oranges and apples a stretchy, earth-friendly ride back from the market.
What you need:
- an old T-shirt
- scissors
- matching thread
- a button
- a piece of ribbon
- sewing machine
Instructions:
1. Take an ironed adult size T-shirt, right side out. (You could use a kid's T-shirt for a smaller sized bag).
2. Fold it in half as shown in picture 2.
3. Cut off the sleeves as shown in picture 3 and put them aside as you'll need them later to make a little pouch.
4. Cut around the neck-line as shown in picture 4.
5. Sew the bottom of the shirt closed using a French seam. If you're not familiar with the French seam check out this post. (Basically, you sew the hem closed on the right side, turn the bag inside out and sew another seam, sandwiching the first seam inside). Next, sew boxed corners, as explained here, in step 1. You could iron everything flat now, if you like.
6. Place the bag in front of you on a flat surface. Starting from the bottom, fold over the bag as shown in picture 6, about 2 1/2 inch, that is.
7. Now, starting about 3 inches from the side, with your scissors make 1/2 an inch to 3/4 of an inch cuts through all layers, leaving about 1 1/8 inch between every cut. Continue like this all the way to the other side and stop about 3 inches from the side seam.
8. Next, fold it over some more (an additional 2 to 2 1/2 inch) and repeat the cutting, but now right in between two cuts from the previous line, as shown in picture 8.
9. Go on like this a couple more times, depending on the size of your bag - I did 5 rows in total.
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