Sunday Sew-Day: Eco-Friendly

I had this week's denim refash all planned out in my head - another cute skirt for summer - but alas, the weather took a turn for the cool and rainy this weekend. I just couldn't get motivated to work on a flowy little skirt when I knew I would have to suffer through an "after" photo shoot. So instead, I grabbed another project I've have on my mind. A friend of mine has set out on a weight loss journey of her own recently. She's doing really well (50 pounds gone so far!), and gave me a big box of refashionable clothes she's undergrown. In it I found several well-loved t-shirts, like this one (front and back).

Seeing as how the city of Dallas has recently passed a bag ban, wherein grocery stores and retailers will soon start charging customers a five-cent fee per paper or plastic bag, I thought turning these tees into reusable shopping bags was just the thing!

I cut off one sleeve and cut half-way around the collar, making sure to not cut too low since the print on the back was a little higher than the one on the front. Then I folded it in half and cut the other sleeve and the rest of the collar to be symmetric.

At the bottom hem, I folded the side inward about 4 inches and pinned it in place. The other side got the same treatment. This will give the bag a sort of expandability, just like a standard plastic bag.

A quick line of stitching across the bottom, right next to the existing hem, completed this super-simple project.

I repeated the process on each of my friend's old shirts, giving her four new shopping bags to fill with fresh produce from the farmers' market.

The best part - other than keeping plastic bags out of landfills - is you know your grocery bags are easily machine washed!