BENGALURU: No-sew T-Shirt totes tutorials have taken the internet by storm of late. Every other day, a new video turns up on social media. For the methodical crafter that I am, these pieces of quickie bag making from old tees were a put off. But out of curiosity I decided to pull out my husband’s old T-shirt and give the effort a shot.Often the tutorials for no-sew bags are with small sized T-shirts. The one I used was a baggy type garment that would have landed in the old-clothes dump box, but for my experiment.Since the internet is so full of the tutorials, I will list out tips that may be helpful, based on my project that lasted about an hour and half.
Materials I used:
■ An old T-shirt a pair of scissors.
Method:
1 When choosing a T-shirt, keep in mind the purpose of your end product. If you plan to step out of home with it, a decent looking one could help.
2 Make a mark using pen or pencil after you decide how much you want to cut at the bottom. Fold the tee at its lower end by about two inches or more.3. Keep in mind, that you will need to cut off the hands. You can visualize the length of the hands to get an idea how much needs to be cut.
4 Run the scissors along the fold and cut it.
5 Now you may fold the T-shirt again, by an inch or two, and cut this part into several strips that start from the upper end side of the T-shirt and hang at its bottom.
6 Cut off the garment’s sleeves and alongside the neck.
7 Here is where a tip of two will come in handy for you. Gauge the length of the sleeves and the neck. This T-shirt had a round neck and had a dramatic difference in height, compared to the length or height of the sleeves. I had to trim after initial cutting. This piece of upper garment can alternatively be used as a layer that you pull over on your body in winter. It works as a bust piece that can be hidden away.8. The shearing may not be as smooth as the videos online show. It is all about trimming and patience.
Pick one strip from a corner, and another from the other layer, and knot the two strips up. I used two knots to keep it sturdy.
Continue knotting. Tip: Keep in mind the quality of your fabric. I cut the strips two thin. A little extra width for each strip does no harm.Knotting takes long. Load yourself with patience. Plus, it is possible that a piece or two actually breaks when you try to knot it.Once you are done with the knotting, the bag is ready. If you want to invert it, go ahead. I did not. I was only glad to stash in my stuffed toys, toys that I keep ready for any visiting toddler to play with.
Enjoy using the tote.It is a teen craft. And you can either use it, or gift it away. My suggestion, keep a bunch of these ready and stash in your hand-bag. You can use them for groceries. Or give away when you spot someone in need of it. Or simply make a whole cartload of them for charity.
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