Published on May 14th, 2019 | by Sarah Dephillips

DIY Reusable Produce Bags From Old T-Shirts

Zero-waste living is finally catching on, and not a moment too soon! If you’ve ever tried zero-waste grocery shopping, you may have realized that reusable produce bags are a must. Sometimes buying a bunch of stuff to go zero waste can feel counter productive. Or, if you’re like me, you just forget until you’re actually at the store pulling another plastic produce bag off the roll, kicking yourself for not ordering those eco-chic organic cotton produce bags when you saw them. Whether you’re trying to save money, have less stuff, or just plain old forget to get reusable bags, these simple DIY reusable produce bags are for you. The best part is they’re made from old t-shirts – something everyone would love to reuse!

Materials

Old t-shirt
Sharp scissors
Cutting mat or hard floor

Step 1: Select and cut a t-shirt

The measurements don’t have to be exact. I laid this large t-shirt flat and cut a straight line from one underarm to the other. That gives you open edges on either side and a fold on top and bottom. I also cut off the hem on the bottom of the shirt, which is the right edge pictured above.

Keeping one folded side at the bottom, fold it in half length wise, putting all the cut edges together, and cut the top fold off making a “bump” in the center top.

When you unfold it (keeping the fold at the bottom), you have the rough shape of a bag. Trim it if you want to neaten any edges.

Step 2: Cut holes and fringes

If you have a sewing machine, go ahead and sew both sides together and leave the top open. If you’re doing the no-sew version, cut fringes along both sides through both thicknesses.

The fringes should be roughly 1/2″ apart from one another and go about 2″ in from the edge. They don’t have to be perfect, just make sure the front and back side have the same amount of fringes – you’re going to tie these together later.

Cut some nice, straight slits in your bag parallel to the bottom fold. Mine are about 2″ long and the lines of slits are 2″ apart. When your bag is finished, these will open up a little so you can see what produce is inside (but not enough to let it fall out!)