Ideal Bite

Want a reusable bag that matches your style? Just grab an old tee (the one with too-tight arms or the mysterious stain), and make one. It's easy: her craftiness, Justina Blakeney, author of 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim and Tie Your T-shirt into Something Special, showed us how - and saving oil and trees used for disposable bags suits the planet too.

A Bag that Fits to a Tee
15-20 minutes
See step-by-step photos here.

What You Need:
1 crew neck T-shirt
Scissors
Pins
Sewing machine (or needle and thread)

1. Lay T-shirt flat. Starting about 4 inches from the neckline, cut around the rim of the neck hole to create a boatneck.

2. Next, cut off the bottom 4 inches of the tee, creating a 4-inch-wide loop. Cut the loop open so you're left with a long strip (that'll be the handle).

3. Make a deep vertical fold perpendicular to the bottom of the shirt, creating a tuck (about 3 inches deep, but that'll depend on the size of your tee and how big you want the bag to be). Pin tuck into place at the bottom. Repeat on the flip side.

4. Sew across the bottom of the shirt, binding the front and back sides together, and fixing the tucks into place along the way.

5. Cut off both sleeves. Then turn the bag inside out, and sew the sleeve holes closed.

6. Sew one end of the handle strip (from step #2) to one "shoulder" piece (one side of the opening of your bag), and repeat on the opposite side with the other end of the strip to complete your bag.