I’m Just a Little Obsessed!

I was so distracted last week. I came back to this post that I featured HERE again and again. I am so in love with the idea of making tote bags out of T-shirts. But, I wanted really sturdy bags and no raw edges. It spun around in my brain for a few days and then I had one of those magical *a-ha!* moments when it all became clear. I didn’t have 2 t-shirts, though…

I had to stop by Old Navy for some new jeans anyhow so I sifted through the clearance stuff and found a few cheap (so cheap—they were all on clearance and then 40% off of that price!!) t-shirts to work some magic on. I won’t lie, I bought so many of those cheap shirts that I got a funny look when I was paying for everything. I explained what I was doing—kinda embarrassed—and the salesperson was so excited for me. She thought it was a great idea. And then I got even more excited than before!!

I could hardly wait to get home to sew! It went so quick and I am still in love with this idea—even more than before!

Materials

2 t-shirts that are the same size (or really close!)


Instructions

Snip a tiny hole along the armhole seam on the outside (right side) of each t-shirt.

Carefully cut off the sleeve by cutting right next to the seam, but make sure the serged edge stays with the sleeve section.

Do this for both sleeves on both t-shirts.

Cut off the binding around the neck edge the same way as the sleeves.

This is what you should have after removing both sleeves and the neck binding.

Lay the shirt on a flat surface and smooth it down so the back and front hems line up and the armholes and side seams are lined up and flattened out. Cut out the back neck opening section so it matches the front neck opening.

Sew the hems together on one shirt using a 1/4 seam allowance. You can double stitch this to reinforce the bottom of the bag.

Stitch the corner at an angle and trim off the corner. This will help eliminate the bulkiness of the corners and give your bag a more rounded shape. My stitching started about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom, but I wish I had done a little more – maybe as much as 3 inches from the bottom.

Trim the corners.

On the other shirt, stitch the hems together in the same manner except leave an opening in the middle large enough to fit your hand through the opening.

Insert one shirt into the shirt with the opening so that right sides are together.

Line up the armholes and pin at the shoulder seam and the side seam.

Starting about 1 inch down from the shoulder seam, sew around the armhole opening ending about 1 inch before the shoulder seam. You will have a gap of 2 inches with the shoulder seam in the center of this. Repeat for the other armhole opening.

Sew around the neck line in the same manner as the armhole openings; start one inch below the shoulder seam and end one inch before reaching the opposite shoulder seam. Repeat on the back side of the neck opening.

Carefully cut the shoulder seams off individually. (The light pink is inside of the dark pink, but I am not sure how or why it got turned around for this picture.)

Turn the bag right side out by pulling the inside shirt (dark pink) through the opening in the outside shirt (light pink).

Pull out the handles as well.

Put the shirt with the opening in the hem in the inside of the one without the opening. Then reach in through one of the handles (There is an opening here where you cut off the shoulder seams and left your gap when sewing the handles.) to grab the inside shirt and pull it out so can finish the hem on that shirt. With right sides together, sew the hem opening completely shut and push it back through the handle so it is inside the other shirt again. This is the key part that makes your bag truly reversible.

Now, smooth the handles in place again like this.

Pinch one matching set together and move the other set out of the way.

Sew these with right sides together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Be patient with the second set—it’s a little tricky to maneuver into position to sew together without the first set getting in the way.

 

Lay one set of handles together (wrong sides together) and tuck in 1/4 inch seam allowance through the section which is open on each side of the handle. Pin in place to hold it. I also pinned from the opposite side to be sure my shoulder seam was lined up since knit is a little temperamental and has a tendency to slide, shift and stretch.

Topstitch around both armhole openings and the entire neck opening. As you topstitch, you will sew together the open parts of the handle with the folded in seam allowance.

I added my own tag to both sides of this little creation…

It’s done! Now you can turn it which ever way makes you happy! (Or the cleanest side!)

In an ideal situation, you would be recycling old t-shirts.

Either way…It’s cheap, sturdy, reversible, and fun!

I didn’t have to convince this little one. She laid claim to it and loaded it up right away!

It’s a good thing I bought so many of those cheap t-shirts because I can’t wait to make more of these bags.

 I'm just a little obsessed right now!

Wait—I did make more! My daughter told me it looked like a tank top so I made it out of a tank top, too!

AND, I used those sleeves that I cut off from the first reversible bag. Be sure you save those sleeves!

I will share a tutorial for this little beauty next!

Tell me what you think—are you madly looking for a couple of t-shirts to make your own Reversible T-shirt Tote?

I'm linking HERE this week!