Old shirts become shopping bags!

I had been a grocery store cashier for 34 1/2 years. I retired in July, 2019. I did not like the old plastic bags people would use for their groceries. A lot of times they smelled bad or they were sticky or funky inside. I then decided I would start making my own reusable bags from old shirts that I was either going to throw away or give to the thrift store. I love them because they can be used then washed with the regular laundry. Here is how to easily make your own!

Find shirts in your closet that you do not plan to wear again. I found 4.

Sewing machine

sewing scissors

thread

one shirt

Lay out the shirt on your work surface.

Cut both sleeves off of the shirt, leaving the original seams in tact.

Cut and square out the neck of the shirt, forming the handles of the bag. Now cut along the shirt bottom, making it the length you will want. No need to pin or measure.

If you would like, you can save the pieces that you cut off. They make great cleaning rags!

Turn the shirt inside out. Now you are ready to start sewing.

Sew along the bottom edge of the shirt forming the bottom of the bag.

Turn the fabric up about 1/2 an inch and sew all edges down. This finishes each edge off.

There is no measuring or pinning. You mainly just want to sew each edge down.

You have now created a shopping bag! The 4 bags pictured above took me about 2 1/2 hours total to make from start to finish! I hope you decide to give this a try. I think you will love using your new bags as much as I do!