No-Sew T-Shirt Tote Bags

Crafting to Disney Series, Part 2 

  I learned to whip these up after being inspired by a demo at my store.  You can find the instructions and photos for the inspiration project here:   http://www.michaels.com/T-Shirt-Tote-Bag/e10050,default,pd.html .  Yay for recycling!  I hopped on pinterest and searched for no sew tote bags and found about a zillion versions of essentially this bag.  It only requires three items:

 

 

       ·         The T-Shirt you are gonna cut up to make the tote bag.
      ·         Scissors
      ·         A single safety pin

That’s it.  Basically, it’s the shortest supply list ever.  This is going to read more complicated than it really is.  They literally take 10 minutes to make.  First lay the T-Shirt flat on your work surface.  Cut the sleeves completely off, cutting at a right angle on the inside of the hem. 

 

 

Save the sleeves!!  Cut a large rectangular area around the collar, matching the length of the cuts of the sleeves, removing it completely.  It will look like this when you are done. 

 

Yes, I know I cut Mickey’s head off.  I have other plans for that in an upcoming Mod Podge shadow box project.  Stay tuned. 

 

Take the fabric that is now the straps and gently pull on it, curling the edges of the t-shirt fabric slightly under.  I also gently pull around the cut areas at the top of the bag, so the edges look a little nicer.  Remember, it’s supposed to be “shabby chic.” 

The most ingenious part of this project is tying the bottom of the bag up with t-shirt yarn made out of the sleeve.  T-Shirt yarn has a ton of uses.  It can be crocheted or knitted just like any other yarn.  It can be looped to make funky necklaces and bracelets.  To make it, simply take the sleeve and cut a strip about a half inch wide. 

 

Turn the sleeve spirally as you cut to make one long string.  Now take the ends of the string and pull!  The edges fold up and you have a length of t-shirt yarn. 

 

 

Use it to close up the bottom of the bag.  Make a two slits opposite each other in the hem of the bag, but don’t cut all the way through the hem. 

 

 

Now, using a safety pin as a guide, feed two lengths of the t-shirt yarn through the tubes in the fabric created by the hem. 

 

 

Tie them off in double (triple!) knots and trim the edge.  Voila.  Saving the environment, one mickey pants bag at a time.

I’ve also made an Eeyore one, cause he’s my fave. 

 

 

Here are two small Tinker Bells ones made from my daughter’s old tees, size 2T, pretty darn cute. 

 

I’m a reusable tote junkie.  (Who really wants to be contributing to that crazy plastic bag island in the Pacific?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch )  I love them.  I use them all the time.  My primary grocery ones are store bought, but these are great for a trip to the farmer’s market.  Need another tote to haul a few craft supplies while you are on your Disney vacation?  Bingo.  J     

Back in Blog Action

When my digital camera took a turn for the worse I simply couldn’t get inspired to blog with no photos to show you my creations.   But, I turned another year older recently.  It didn’t feel like a big deal, but boy I got some amazing presents this year.  One of which is a cute new little Nikon camera.  So I’m back in the Blog Business.  You may have noticed the updated layout and class calendar.  I’ve been busy.  A big reason I needed a new camera was for my family’s upcoming Disney World trip, so I thought I’d kick off my return to crafting with a mini-series I’m calling Crafting to Disney.  Stay tuned for Disney themed how –to posts on T-Shirt tote bags, homemade hair bows, and my trip smash book.      

 

Crafting to Disney Series, Part 1

 

I’m really not joking when I say that this is one of, if not THE, best thing I’ve ever made.  It’s my daughter’s homemade Disney Autograph book.  What started off as a stack of paper bags was brought to life with the personalities of the films portrayed.  Each page reflects my interpretation of the character’s style, with unifying colors, themes, and embellishments throughout.  The cards slide in the ends of the bag pages, and can singly be presented to the character for signatures.  I even consulted a former Disney World character cast member who helped me with sizing the blank areas large enough for signatures and what type of pens I should bring.  Characters included range from Mickey to Agent P.  I’ve left plenty of open space for photos to be added, and included eight blank cards for those special extra characters.  Some of my favorite details include Aurora’s card being inked pink AND blue to show the famous fairy fight over her dress color and Jasmine’s card back chosen to look like a magic carpet.  I can’t wait to show this off at character dinners during our trip, and I love knowing my daughter has an amazing pre-made keepsake, practically done before we even leave the house.  You cannot buy this for fifteen bucks in a gift shop.

This is a very interactive piece, but here are card layout photos and flip through photos from BEFORE the trip.  I’ll try to remember to re post when it’s full of photos and signatures.

Signature Cards:

 

 

 

Photo Flip-Through

 

Getting character autographs was a favorite Disney park pastime during my childhood trips.  I don’t think I saved any of my generic park bought half-filled autograph books.  Now I wish I had.  Planning a trip yourself?  Help yourself get in the magical mood by making crafts for your trip with your kids.  It doesn’t have to be this fancy.  A blank sketch notebook decorated with Disney stickers could make a cute basic version.  The memories are going to last forever, so you might as well make a cute book to put them in!