Simple Drawstring Bag From a T-Shirt

I have a ton of old t-shirts laying around, and when one is too small I cut the neck and sleeves out. Being a treehugging nerd, I have severe issues throwing away any fabric scraps, even t-shirt sleeves. Luckily, there is a super simple way to make drawstring bags out of t-shirts.

Here's what you need:

-A piece of t-shirt with a hem

-Sewing machine and thread (or needle and thread)

-Scissors

-Yarn or string for the drawstring.

Step 1: Making the Bag

I don't have any pictures of the process, but it is simple enough even so.

If you are sewing a bag from the t-shirt sleeve, sew a seam across the sleeve at the shoulder (zigzag or straight stitch, it doesn't matter), leaving the hemmed edge open. Congrats: you now have a bag. Next up, cut two hole into the hem on opposite ends of the bag. Now you have access to the inside of the hem, which will act as a casing for the drawstring and save you from the effort of sewing one! Thread two lengths of string through the casing with a safety pin, tie them off, and you're finished!

Step 2: Extras

Of course, you can use this method with any part of the t-shirt, as long as the hem makes up one side for the casing. If you're fancy you could turn the seam to the inside so it doesn't show. I also curved the bottom seam at the ends, so it doesn't have corners.

They're not pretty, but they're so quick and easy and useful it makes up for it. I made a bunch to replace plastic snack bags in my kitchen (treehugger that I am) for dry snacks since they'll wash easily. For a product that took less than 5 minutes a bag to make, I'm happy!