No-sew T-shirt bag

A DIY bag made without needle and thread

This upcycling idea has a real summer feel to it, but a practical T-shirt bag can obviously also be enjoyed all year round. It seem such a waste to throw out old T-shirts because, as you can see here, they can be transformed into awesome new things – like this smart T-shirt tote bag which, by the way, requires only a pair of scissors and no sewing whatsoever! Depending on how big the T-shirt is, the size of the bag can range from petite to extra large. To paint your bag with your very own choice of cool designs, edding textile markers and pens are a must-have. edding textile products are ideal for many types of light-coloured fabrics such as cotton and linen. What’s more, there are two stroke widths and a range of 20 colours to choose from, including neon shades. Basic or even detailed motifs can be added with the aid of a template; simply place the template under the fabric and copy the motif. Once you’ve finished decorating, iron the bag on the no-steam setting to fix the design and make it resistant to frequent washing up to 60°C.

Category: Special gifts
Products: Textile markers and pens
Materials: Textile
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Downloads: Images (ZIP)

Step-by-step

Step 1

If the T-shirt is new, you should wash, dry and iron it first so that it absorbs the ink better. You’ll need edding 4600 textile pens and 4500 textile markers in pink (colour code 009), orange (006), red (002) and violet (008).

Step 2

Lay the T-shirt flat on the table and cut off the neck and sleeves.

Step 3

This is what your “sleeveless” T-shirt should look like.

Step 4

Cut slits in the bottom of the shirt, about 1 cm wide and 4 cm long. Cut both the front and back layers together to match.

Step 5

Here is a photo of the T-shirt with fringe.

Step 6

To close up the bottom of the bag, take the pairs of front and back fringes and tie each one into a knot, then knot each pair diagonally.

Step 7

Cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the T-shirt and insert it between the two layers of fabric. This prevents the ink from bleeding through to the back. Now for the design: paint your DIY bag with your chosen motif using edding textile pens. A really practical way to do this is to prepare a template of the motif and place it under the fabric so the design shows through. Now all you have to do is simply copy the motif. To heat-fix the design, iron it on the no-steam setting and your T-shirt bag is now resistant to washes up to 60°C.