An Improved Version of the Drawstring Bag From a T-shirt

There are a lot of t-shirt-to-drawstring bag tutorials online. My problem with them is that, especially if done by hand, the result has a rather weak base since most of the weight from the objects are placed onto the stitches. Plus, t-shirts whose designs fill up the entire surface of the shirt can't be used since many tutorials require cutting up portions of the shirt. This method that I have devised fixed both these problems.

Disclaimer: I did this bag using hand sewing techniques, but you can still use a sewing machine if you want.

Step 1: Materials

You will need:
1. Scissors
2. Needle
3. Thread
4. A t-shirt
5. Two pieces of cord (168 cm ~ 66 inches) you can choose to go for shorter or longer pieces.

Step 2: The Neck

We will first start with making loop where the cord will run through.
Cut two slits on the gartered neck, one on the left and one the right. You're done!
Most shirts have a hollow neck, which is why this will work!
If, however, you find that something is blocking the way, you can cut the neck a bit to remove or open the blockage and just sew the remaining pieces together.

Step 3: The Base

Probably the most improortant part of the process.
1. Cut the left and right sides of the bottom end of the shirt as far in as you want.
2. Turn the shirt inside out and fold the resulting flaps in half towards the inside of the shirt.
3. Sew the edges of the flap to keep them in place.
Note 1: You might notice that the edges dont line up properly when folding the shirt in half. Just fold/cut the excess off then keep sewing.
Note 2: This part is only done to make handling the object easier and does not make the bag any stronger. It also looks neater this way.
4. Sew the two flaps together at the very edge.

Step 4: The Cords

1. Turn the shirt outside in.
2. Put each cord through the collar like so and then tie a knot on the ends of the cord.
3. Insert the tied ends inside the space left at the bottom of the shirt.

Step 5: Finishing the Base

1. Turn the shirt inside out.
2. Fold the clothing around the cord like in the picture above.
3. Sew those spaces shut.

Step 6: The Sleeves

We are almost done! We can sew the sleeves of the shirt shut and call it a day by taking the sleeve and then sewing it at the line near the armpit area. Cut excess material if needed.

But, if you want to take it a step further, we can turn these sleeves into pockets!
1. Sew the very edges of the shirt shut.
2. Take the sleeve and sew on the line starting on the armpit area, and continue to do so until only halfway through the sleeve.

Step 7: Finishing Up

All that's left now is to turn the shirt outside in and we are finally finished with the bag!

The shape of the base and the way it had a pseudo two layers of clothing made it stronger. Making the base like that also made the shirt look smaller, so the entire shirt can be used when making this drawstring bag rather than just a small portion.

I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial! Please do comment if you guys have any suggestions for improvement.