Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

A quick, reusable bag fits your needs to a 'T'

YOU WILL NEED

Riding the trend of multiuse bags, it's easy to make your own with just a few supplies and some sewing talent.

There's a display of reusable bags for purchase at almost every store checkout counter. Save yourself a buck and make your own in just a few steps.

A retired T-shirt can be transformed into your market bag, gym bag or sporting event bag. Repurpose the favorite team T-shirt that you might have outgrown, and show your team spirit by carrying your game provisions in the shirt made into a bag. Or turn that 5K T-shirt into your gym bag.

You also can make several of these for the back of your teenager's door to serve as laundry sorting bags for his or her whites and colors. Hang them so each bag hangs from two hooks, one strap on each hook.

What makes these bags nice is that they can also roll up and be stashed away in your purse, glove compartment or office desk drawer until needed. Sometimes those store-bought ones don't fold or roll up nicely.

When choosing the ribbon for the edge of your bag, you can have it be complementary or contrasting. It's up to you.

For this project, you will need an old T-shirt, scissors, a sewing machine with thread to match the T-shirt and 1-½ inch wide ribbon to match or contrast with the T-shirt.

Begin by cutting off the arms of the T-shirt. Follow the seam so that your cutting line is curved when you are done. Do both arms.

Next, cut out the neck area, following the shape of the neck seam but cutting in about 4 inches into the body of the T-shirt to give your opening a little more room. You can adjust this opening as you see fit and make it larger or deeper if you like.

Turn the T-shirt inside out and sew the bottom edges together with a running stitch.

Turn it right side out again and you will see that you now have a bag.

To finish off the edges, fold your length of ribbon in half over the edge of the bag opening. Start at what had been the shoulder seam and, using a running stitch, attach the ribbon to the edge. Be sure that you go slowly, that your ribbon stays folded and you are sewing through both layers of the ribbon. That will secure your ribbon to the inside of the bag. Secure the ribbon around the entire opening of the bag.

Do the sides of the straps in the same manner, folding over the ribbon and sewing a running stitch to secure it to the shirt bag.

Trim off any stray ends of thread, and you are done.

cesbenshade@Lnpnews.com

T-shirt

scissors

sewing machine

thread

3 yards of 1-1/2 inch wide ribbon