Make a No Sew T-Shirt Bag in Minutes!

Yes, you read that right. You really can take your old t-shirt and turn it into a no sew t-shirt bag in minutes. If you want a large bag use a large t-shirt or if you want a small bag use a kids t-shirt! It really couldn’t be easier.

This is a fabulous eco-friendly craft for adults and older kids who are proficient with scissors that cut fabric. I am writing this just after Earth Day and this is a perfect example of upcycling waste into something new instead of adding it to the world’s waste pile!

So, if you are wondering how to make a bag from a t-shirt without sewing let’s get started.

Create your Bag Straps

Start by laying your t-shirt out flat on your workspace and fold it in half along the centre (vertically). Take a little time to remove any creases if you can.

Then simply cut the sleeves off as shown. Because you are removing the sleeves it does not matter if you have a long or short sleeved t-shirt. You can also remove any sweat marks there may be.

Then cut off the neck of the t-shirt. At this point you have a decision to make. How big do you want the bag opening? My advice is to just cut the neck band off and see what you think. If the opening is wide enough you have made your handles. If not simply re-fold the t-shirt and cut the opening a little larger by cutting further down the t-shirt.

Form the T-shirt Bag (using tassels)

Now, is the time to form the bag by tying your tassels. Lay your t-shirt out flat on your workspace and makes sure that the top and bottom hems line up. Then decide how precise you want to be. I recommend following my method but if you are in a really big hurry you could skip the measuring and just get cutting!

Use a ruler and pen to mark a line between 3 and 4 inches up from the bottom of the t-shirt. How long you make this measurement is up to you. The longer you go the longer your tassels will be. These are just measurements that I have found work well.

Then take your scissors and snip up from the bottom of the t-shirt to the line you marked approximately every 0.5″. Make sure that you also snip along the side hem so that you do not end up with a wide strip at each end.

Then pull each strip to make it roll slightly. If your fabric is not very stretchy it will not roll up so do not worry about that.

Now is the time to tie your tassels. Start at one end and tie the top strip to the one below in a single knot. Repeat all the way along the row so that all your strips have been tied to another one.

Once you have knotted all your tassels you will see that there are holes between each knot. You are now going to cover those holes by tying the top strip from the first knot to the bottom strip of the next knot along. Repeat this all the way long.

Then, finally, at each end tie the end two strips together in a double knot to secure them fully. This is just an additional step to be sure nothing is coming undone.

Congratulations you now have your first no sew t-shirt bag. I am sure it will not be your last.

So, what next?

Now you know that you can upcycle your old t-shirts how about using some of them to make flowers or some t-shirt yarn for other projects? You could use the yarn you make for many projects and one idea is to crochet a round rug.

On this site there are many projects that upcycle other items or use up scraps. While you are here take a look around using the menus at the top of this page. If you want to craft in an environmentally friendly way then this site and my YouTube channel will really help you. We are all looking to protect our world and upcycling items is a great way to make a small but important contribution.

Enjoy your t-shirt bags and remember to pin this tutorial to your favourite board on Pinterest for when you need it again.