How To Make A No Sew T-Shirt Tote Bag

Supplies:

• Old t-shirt – the thicker the fabric, the sturdier the bag
• Sharp scissors, preferably fabric scissors
• Washable marker (optional)

Directions

Step 1: Cut the sleeves off

If you’d like to fold the t-shirt in half you can cut both sleeves at once so that they are identical. Or, if your material is too thick to cut them both at once, you can cut one, then fold it in half and use the cut side as a guide for the next sleeve.

Step 2: Cut the neckline area

If you’d like, you can turn the shirt inside out and trace the outline of a bowl before cutting or you can do free-hand cutting to get a slightly oval shape.

Step 3: Determine how deep you want the bag to be

If you haven’t already turned your t-shirt inside out, do it now. Determine where you want the bottom of the bag to be and trace a line across. Keep in mind that depending on the fabric used, your tote is likely stretch and become longer when it’s filled with stuff.

Step 4: Cut fringe

Now grab your scissors and cut slits from the bottom of the shirt up to the line marking the bottom of your bag. You’ll want to cut both the front and back layers together because they need to match up for the next step.

Step 5: Tie fringe

Take your first pair of fringe and tie it into a knot, then tie two more pairs. Now if you lift your bag you’ll see that although the pairs are pulling the bag together, there’s a hole between each pair. This next step will close those holes.

Take three sets of fringe that have been tied in knots. Grab one strand from the middle set and tie it in a knot with one of the strands on the left set. Then take the other strand from the middle set and tie it in a knot with one of the strands on the right set. Then take the remaining strand on the right set and tie it to the next set of strands, and so on and so forth until all the strands are tied.