Cotton Bags

How to sew/make drawstring bag out of old t-shirt-10 pts. to best answer!?

Has anyone ever done this before? I have a rather big shirt(men's x-large). I want to make a simple drawstring bag out of a cool t-shirt to carry my gym clothes in. Can anyone explain to this frustrated, beginning seamstress how to do this? Will I need to cut down the shirt so the bag won't be too big? Much thanks, godevigo

Public Comments

1. cut the sleeves and neck out so its in a square/rectangle. put the two pieces on fabric together, but so the side you want to be on the outside when you finish touching. with the two top edges, fold them over rope and sew them. with the other ends of the rope, sew them into the bottom corners. then sew around the ouside, but leaving the top open. and you should be good. i hope this helps!
2. If you don't want a duffle/backpack bag, it's tons easier. Figure out how big you want your bag to be. Put your gym clothes into the t-shirt and see how much too big it might or might not be. You'll lose a little of the t-shirt to the sewing process. Once you know how big you want the bag to be, figure out what that is in inches -- measure it with a tape measure to see. Write that down. Add 3" to the length measurement, and write that down. If you are cutting it width-wise, too, add 1" to width measurement and write it down. Circle the two numbers you just wrote down. (No, I don't think you're an idiot; this is the way I do things myself.) That's what you'll cut to. Lay the shirt (inside out, of course) on a firm flat sueface and carefully mark out the circled measurements. If the shirt has a pattern or print on it that you want visible on your bag, be sure to take that into account when you mark out your measurements. Lightly draw the cutting lines at those measurements if you need them. Pin the two sides of the shirt together in 3 or 4 places around the inside of the cutting lines, and cut out your bag. Unpin it. Run a zigzag stitch around the top 4 corners, going about 2" down the sides at each corner. On each piece fold the top over about an inch, so the fold isn't on the outside. Flip the edge under, if you know how to do that and want to. Your choice. Sew the seam down so you have a casing. Do the same to the other piece. Put the pieces together, right sides together, and sew from the bottom of one casing, down the side, across the bottom, and up the other side to the bottom of that casing. Be sure to go forward and back a few times at the beginning and end of this seam. Turn your bag right side out. Run a piece of cording through the casings at the top. Tie it off. Voila! One drawstring bag. For a fancier corner, after it's sewn and before you turn the bag right side out, gather the corners. To do this, grab a handful of corner. Take a piece of strong string (kite) or thin twine. Wrap it around the squunched corner about 3" in from the point of the corner. Do the same to the other corner. This gives you a fun look on a beginner's bag.
3. Take a pillow case and turn it inside out to see how it is made, because, basically that is what you will be making here. Only your bag will have a draw string closure. Turn your t-shirt inside out and cut into the desired size, cutting both layers of the t-shirt at the same time. Sew the sides and the bottom of the bag together. Hem the top of the bag about one inch, being sure to leave a small 3/4" area near each side seam unsewn. This will allow you to thread drawstrings in the upper hemline of the bag. Get two pieces of string or use long shoe laces for the drawstring. With a large safety pin, thread both strings into that upper hem opening and tie each one together so that you now have two separate drawstrings in that upper hem. Pull one string from the opening in one side seam and the other string on the other side of the hemline and you will be able to cinch the bag closed. Hope this has been helpful.