Camping With Suzi » Earth-friendly BYOBag

Earth-friendly BYOBag

I have been advocate of BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) for decades.  Last year I did a blog on making your own grocery bags.  I hope people have found it useful but I found an even easier, more earth-friendly BYOBag.

I don’t know about other men, but my Fred is hard on his clothes, particularly t-shirts.  He loves his t-shirts from places we have been and will wear them everywhere until the neck is so frayed it looks like a fringe.  There will be holes under the arms,  unidentifiable stains and a general battered appearance.  Fred’s reluctance to retire these sad garments may have been because they were relegated to the rag-bag.  (Imagine his t-shirt from the pancake house he ate at while surveying the Uwharrie National Forest with our editor more than 20-years ago being used to wash the car!!!)

Well, I think I’ve found a great re-purpose for t-shirts -> shopping bags!

Here’s how:

Lay the t-shirt flat on a table or floor.  Following the sleeve’s seam, cut off the sleeve.  The tub shaped rag is great for polishing things.

Now, fold the t-shirt in half, matching the cut of sleeve’s edge.  Start at the edge of the neck hole cut a semi-circle ending at the some level as the sleeve hole’s bottom edge.

Turn the t-shirt inside-out.  Match the side seams and pin the bottom edge.  You can hand stitch, using a simple running stitch or run it through your sewing machine.  Turn it right side out and you have a spacious shopping bag that will hold a bunch.

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This article was published in 2010 but is still valid.  Trying making with children on one of those cold, nasty winter days.  I’ll betcha grandma would love getting a couple for her use.

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