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Transform a T-shirt to Tote Bag in Ten Steps

SILVIA GUTIERREZ / MEDIA COMMONS TEACHER LIBRARIAN

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Library

Type of Library Best Suited for: Any

Cost Estimate: $3 per participant. Will be less if teens provide their own T-shirts

Makerspace Necessary? No

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

We’ve all heard the three “R’s.” Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Let’s add “Upcycle” to the “R’s.” Or, stick with the “R’s” and call it “Repurposing.” Recycling takes a used item and extracts useful material from it. Upcycling takes a used, no longer wanted item and creates a completely different “new and improved” item. Recycling is tearing an old T-shirt to make rags; upcycling is transforming an old T-shirt into a tote bag.

Our ancestors upcycled out of necessity. Old clothes were stitched into quilts. An old door was crafted into a table. Now we upcycle to save the earth, save money, and express our own creativity.

Participants will create a tote bag from a T-shirt in just ten steps. This project is quick, fun, and environmentally friendly because a gently used T-shirt is upcycled into a tote. Makers can show their school spirit, advocate for a cause, or be artsy when that too-tight tee is no longer wearable. The end project is a lightweight, versatile tote bag that shows the individual’s personality. This practical item will earn the user many compliments and admiration when it is revealed to be upcycled from an old T-shirt. Upcycling is the fun factor of environmentalism.

OVERVIEW

This T-shirt to tote project can be easily completed in one 45–60 minute session. Have a few T-shirts for those teens who don’t supply their own, but it is more rewarding if they bring one that is special to them. Most of the work involves cutting the T-shirt and tying knots. Just a bit of sewing—straight stitching on a printed line by hand or machine—is needed, and shouldn’t discourage those with no previous sewing experience. One or two sewing machines are all that are needed. One adult per 8–10 teens can supervise. Teens can sit around a table, and each should have enough room to lay the T-shirt flat on the table. Adults should position themselves at the head of the table to be easily seen by all as they demonstrate each step for the teens to follow.

MATERIALS LIST

NECESSARY EQUIPMENT

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

A word on T-shirts. Choosing an appropriate T-shirt is crucial. The wrong type of tee will not create a long-lasting, useful bag. Instead, it will stretch out of shape when filled or be too small or flimsy to be useful. Sturdy, heavyweight T-shirts like Hanes Beefy T or Gilden Heavy Blend are best. The neckline may be round or v-neck. But don’t choose a shirt with holes. You don’t want your loose change slipping out!

Size matters. An Adult Small or Child Large are good choices. Estimate the size of the finished tote by measuring the T-shirt circumference around the chest area, then measuring the shoulder to bottom hem, and subtracting four inches. This will give the approximate length and width of the finished bag.

T-shirts can be purchased at bargain prices at thrift stores. But remember, we are upcycling, so no new tees!

Step 1

Lay the T-shirt on the table surface. Have the arms straight out from the body of the shirt. In other words, lay it in a T. Cut off the sleeves by cutting on the outside of the seam, leaving the seam attached. This section will be part of the shoulder strap, and the seam prevents stretching and fraying.

Step 2

Place the sleeveless T-shirt on the table with the design or graphic face up. Smooth the shirt out to minimize wrinkles or folds. Using a round bowl or pot lid, place it between the shoulders. The lid should be half on the shirt and half off, creating a half circle for the cutting line. Check that the shoulder strap will be about 1½ to 2 inches wide when cut and that your graphic design is complete and not chopped off. You may need to use another size bowl, or make adjustments. If you feel confident, you may do without the bowl and draw freehand in the next step.

Step 3

Trace around the pot lid with a pen or pencil on the front side only. You will cut on the line in the next step, so don’t worry if the mark is unsightly.

Step 4

Cut on the traced line through both thicknesses—the front and back.

FIGURE 15.1

Sleeves and neckline cut

Step 5

If the shoulder straps look too short, place the lid down lower on the T-shirt and trace again. Then, cut.

Step 6

Look over the design and decide how long you want the bottom fringe. The fringe should be at least four inches long in order to tie easily. The bottom of the tote bag will be right above the fringe. Draw a horizontal line on the front of the T-shirt at least four inches above the bottom edge. Pin the front and back together by pinning through both thicknesses, horizontal to the traced line and an inch above the traced line. The pins hold the T-shirt firmly together for the next step.

Step 7

The front of the T-shirt will be sewn to the back by sewing on the traced line. There are two options—hand sewn or machine sewn.

If hand sewn, cut a long piece of thread about two feet long. Thread the needle and knot one end of the thread. Sew through both back and front, making about six stitches per inch. When one end of the T-shirt is reached, knot the thread and repeat by sewing again. This will strengthen and reinforce the tote’s bottom. The stitches do not have to be perfectly straight because the thread will not show when the tote is completed.

If machine sewn, set the stitch length to six per inch and choose the straight stitch. Sew on the marked line to the end, and knot. Cut the thread, and begin again at the first end. You are sewing the back and front together twice to reinforce the bottom.

When finished sewing, remove the pins.

Step 8

Lay the shirt flat on the table and make marks one inch apart along the bottom edge and just under the stitched line.

Step 9

Cut through both thicknesses up to the sewn line. Caution: do not snip through the thread. The first and last slits, which are the side seams of the T-shirt, will need to be cut on the seam to make into two slits.

Step 10

Keep the T-shirt carefully laid flat so the slits line up front and back. Tie the front fringe to the coordinating back fringe twice, in a double knot.

Congratulations! Your T-shirt is now transformed into a tote bag and is ready to use. It’s lightweight and compact and can be taken anywhere. Bag your lunch, bag your groceries, bag your gym clothes.

FIGURE 15.2

Fringe cut and tied

FIGURE 15.3

Finished tote bag

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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