T-Shirt and Tank Top Bags: I *heart* them!

I've made several t-shirt and tank top bags over the last couple of years.  I use them daily!  They're super simple to make and have so many uses... dirty laundry while traveling, hauling packages to the post office, yard sale shopping, carrying craft supplies, holding food for camping or car trips, etc. etc.  They stretch HUGE and are totally machine washable so I don't mind throwing dirty things in it.  The girls love that they can keep t-shirts they outgrow and I love finding shirts for .25 at yard sales I can upcyle into bags.  I have tons and keep making them because I use them like crazy!

I've been giving Alyssa sewing lessons and one of our latest sewing adventures was t-shirt bags and a purse out of a pair of jeans she's outgrown.  She did a great job!

Here's the easy tutorial for the t-shirt bags:

Lay the t-shirt flat and cut the collar off evenly.  Cut the sleeves off as well.  If you're using a tank top you can skip this step.

Turn the shirt inside out and stitch the bottom of the shirt closed.  I like to double or even triple stitch the bottom closed because I carry tons of heavy things in my bags.  I once carried stacks of vintage books and pans in one bag!  I have never had a single bag tear or any handles break.  These things hold up!

That's it!  You can whip one up in about 5 minutes!  Oh and if you can't read Alyssa's shirt bag it says, "Blondes have more fun.  BRUNETTES CAN READ"  Bwah haha!

AND t-shirt bags aren't just for carrying stuff!  At my baby sister's wedding a couple weeks ago I had a *cough cough* mishap with the punch and the kitchen we were in had nothing to clean it up with!  Nothing... no paper towels, dish rags, towels... but I grabbed an empty t-shirt bag and it ended up being our cleaning rag all day.  At the end of the day it went right in the washer.  Ok, I won't lie.  It sat in my kitchen in a wet heap along with the hoards of wedding, ward party, cooking class and cookie decorating activity items I was supposed to put away for probably way too long as I tried to recuperate/pout about my kids being gone.  T-shirt bags rock.

Here's the purse we upcyled from a pair of jeans:

I remember making jean purses for my girls when they were like 2 and 5 years old out of adult sized jeans.  I made them into church bags to hold a notebook and the pockets held colored pencils and crayons.

These purses also whip up super fast.  Alyssa's came out so cute!  She's in love with it.  My little girly is addicted to sewing!