re-purposing stock

There are just WAY too many tshirts in our costume stock. An insane amount, really. I can only donate so many to Goodwill or Salvation Army, so i felt the need to re-purpose a few of them for grocery bags. The idea came to me when I saw the check-out clerk at the grocery store emptying the box of bags, which said "Tshirt Bags" on the box. And i thought..aha!! I know what to do with all those tshirts that do not fit into storage!



Now I am sure that this is written about somewhere in the blog-o-sphere, but i have decided to not google it, and post my own mini tutorial:

Starting from the top left corner, working across Left to right:

row 1:
1. You need one t-shirt. Children's small or medium is perfect for your aversage grocery store size bag (not to mention, these things S-T-R-E-T-C-H!)
2. Hack off the sleeves (but save later, for they will be pockets!)
3. and 4. You will need to cut out the neckline for handles. Draw it out to see how deep you want them, or just be brave and cut away.

row 2:
5. Turn inside out and fold sideways. The center fronts and the center backs are now the side seams.
skip middle pic
6. Creat bottom of back: Sew a seam approx. 1" -2" from original hem. (Seam depth determines width of bottom of bag)

just below, right to left (oops)
7. and 8. Snip open at sides so bottom of bag can lay flat. Measure approx. 1.5" in and stitch.

next row
9. and 10. Finish edges of handles (old neck and armhole seams) with stich of choice. Since this is a stretch fabic I just zig-zag around.
11. For pockets, open up sleeve seam, lay flat wrong side to wrong side 2" below armhole/handle with hem up. Stitch around sides and across bottom and then down middle to create 2 pockets (i need to play with photo shop more to learn how to draw arrows and other directional things).
12. On side opposite from pocket, add decoration of choice! (Tigerente, of course)

I use the smaller bags with pockets inside to transport bottles and what-nots to daycare for Maxim. But the red bag with the Tigerente is MY bag - lunch bag or knitting or general grocery shopping. The larger bags (what are now too small for me or Fritz) are perfect for larger grocery trips and are much more comfortable to carry from the parking lot to our apartment while pushing a stroller :)