Tangled Thread

how-to of the day: make a recycled reversible t-shirt totebag, part three

by Chloe on April 17th, 2008

I left you yesterday with the lining cut out - now it’s time to sew it!  Sew the sides of both the t-shirt and the lining (separately) to make two bag, open on one side.  Take the lining and slide it into the t-shirt, wrong sides together.  Make sure to match the seams:

Fold the lining over once, so it touches the edge of the t-shirt.  Fold it a second time, so you’ve got a 1 inch “cuff” along the top of the bag.  Pin, and sew the cuff down.  Using the lining to create a cuff will make the finished bag stronger - that way the handles are sewn into woven fabric, not knitted t-shirt:

I’m using one inch wide nylon webbing for the handles.  I’ve cut two lengths, approximately 16 inches long and seared the edges using a match (in a well ventilated area please).  You can also use a narrow zig-zag stitch to keep the nylon from unravelling.  Mark where you want the handles to attach and pin them:

I’m using a box stitch to sew the handles on - it’s incredibly strong.  I sewed three times across the top and the bottom, and then once on the “X” and the sides of the seam:

You can also see the stitch I used to sew the cuff down in this close-up.  That’s actually a stretch stitch, but it’s strong and great for things like totebags.

I’ll show you the finished totebag in the next post :-)

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