I have been looking for a portable, washable organizer for the kids to use and found the perfect solution over the weekend. I saw this cheap and cute T-shirt in a thrift store. It can be easily transformed into a shopping tote bag and it is 100% washable. Theres just one problem: I can't hand sew, and this tote bag transformation made no use of that skill at all. From start to finish, the whole process took less than 10 minutes!~
Material Tools:
Old T-shirts - the thicker the fabric, the stronger the bag
Sharp scissors, preferably fabric scissors
Washable markers (optional)
Step 1: Cut off the sleeves
If you fold the T-shirt in half, you can cut off both sleeves at once so that they are exactly the same. Or, if your material is too thick to cut them all in one go, you can cut them once, then fold them in half and use the cut side as a reference for the next one.
Step 2: Cut the neckline area
If desired, turn the shirt inside out and trace the outline of the bowl before cutting. I use both methods, and I personally prefer freehand cutting because I prefer an oval shape to a perfect circleshape.
Step 3: Determine the depth of the bag
If you haven't turned your T-shirt inside out yet, do so now. Determine where the bottom of the bag will be and draw a line. Keep in mind that depending on the fabric used, the stuffing inside the tote may stretch and become longer.
Step 4: Cut the Stripes
Now, grab your scissors and cut from the bottom of the T-shirt all the way to the mark on the bottom of the bag. You will need to cut through both the front and back layers as they need to match in order to proceed to the next step.
I cut a slit about 3/4 to 1 inch.
Step 5: Tie it up
This does sound complicated, but its not. Take the first pair of stripes and tie them into a knot, thenPlay two more pairs.
The next thing to do is grab a piece of thread from the middle group (the one with the arrow pointing to the left) and tie it into a knot with a piece of thread from the left group. I then took another thread from the middle group (the one with the arrow pointing to the right) and tied it into a knot with the one from the right group.
And so on until everything is tied together. Now, turn your t-shirt inside out again. Voila, you're done!
A few interesting designs for reference.
Tie the strap into a knot.
