Upcycled T-Shirt Episode 2: Toy Bags

Let me start by saying I had so much fun making these little bags out of Gabe's old clothes.  I've been given and giving baby clothes away like crazy but there are a few here and there that I can't bear to let go of. I don't want boxes of clothes sitting around the garage for years so I've been trying to find ways to reuse them. So, for fun I made these little toy bags out of onsies and a sleeper and I just LOVE how they turned out! I'm considering making & selling them as we've got years of kids clothes ahead of us. That and I've been wanting to add new sewing products to the shop because it gives me a break from making bottle caps. :)

Here is what you need to make a t-shirt toy bag: 

baby/kids t-shirt (don't have kids? substitute an adult t-shirt!)
thin cotton rope (can be found at most fabric stores by the foot)

scissors and/or rotary blade and cutting board 

 sewing machine & matching thread 

1) Simply cut off both arms of the shirt or onesie at an angle.

2) Cut off the neck of the shirt

3) Turn the shirt inside out and simply stitch up the sides you just cut. I arched my corners as I sewed to make a smooth, round bottom. 

4) Flip the shirt over and sew a button hole along the hemmed edge about 1/2" from the edge. Fold over the hemmed edge of the t-shirt and sew a decorative stitch to create a channel big enough for the cotton rope to slip through. 

5) Cut a piece of thin cotton rope long enough to slip though the bag and tie a knot. Clip a safety pin at one end of the string and feed it through the channel from the button hole. Tie the ends together with a knot and your done!

 

Make different bags out of your kids favorite clothes to store all their favorite toys! They also make great travel bags for undergarments, bathroom essentials, electronic cords & chargers, etc. Once you've conquered the simple t-shirt bag try mixing it up with some fun designs. Here are some other bags I made...

I used a baby onesie and I followed the same steps 1-3 above to make this simple handled bag.

The onesie itself wasn't anything fancy but it had this adorable Tigger tag on the sleeve so I ripped it off and restitched it onto the main bag.

This polar bear onesie had this adorable design I wanted to keep upright so I cut off the the sleeves and neck and used the top to create the channel opening for the slip rope. Further I thought it would be cute to keep the bottom of the bag looking like a diaper bottom. So I sewed up the leg openings from the outside, keeping them exposed; folded over the butt flap and hand stitched it to the side of the bag.

Just experiment and have fun with it!