Tshirt into a tote bag

I made this cute little tote bag for the summer. I love this color and the pattern.



I found the tshirt on the clearance rack at Target. It was an XS and I am so far from that, but I loved the pattern. I bought it and held onto for some future project.

Supplies:
-one t-shirt with a pattern you love
-extra t-shirt for the inside (mine is a craft t-shirt from Michaels)
-rotary cutter
-sewing machine
(**Disclaimer: a few of the photos are dark because I do most of my crafting at night--apologies!)

Here's the skinny:

1-Cut off the sleeves on the patterned t-shirt.

2-I then laid down my ruler and decided where I was going to cut for the top of my bag. I chose right under the collar seam. I was trying my best to preserve some of the beading.

3-I laid the yellow shirt on top of the much bigger inner white shirt and used my rotary cutter to trace the shape for the inner lining. There probably is a more accurate way of doing it, but that's the first thing that crossed my mind! (Forgot to take a picture of that..oops!)

4-Turn the yellow shirt inside out, pin the bottom closed and then sew it closed and do the same for the white shirt except sew up the bottom and the two sides--leaving the top open just like the yellow shirt.

5-While both are still inside out, fit the yellow shirt into the white shirt. The design sides should be facing one another. See the pic.
This may take quite a bit of maneuvering and shifting around to get the seams to line up.


6-I then set the bag aside and cut up scraps from the white shirt to make handles for the bag. This is just a simple tube. Sew up three sides and turn it inside out. You may need to use a pencil or chopstick to help get the tube right side out.

7-I pinned the yellow and white layers together while they are still inside out. I then sewed up the seams making sure to avoid any of the beading still on the shirt.

8-I then pinned the handles to the bag and sewed them on. Again I just eyeballed it. I think it looks better without being particularly precise. I measured very little while making this project.


Fin!

I like the way it turned out. Even the funky shape of the top of the bag from where I cut the sleeves off. You can of course adjust it so you have a more uniform looking bag. That's the beauty of making one your self. It's totally unique!






I hope this tutorial helps and you can make one for your summer activities!!

I'll be linking here: