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Recycle an old Tee to store your treasures
I'll admit it, I'm abusive to my pencil bags. When I decided to convert my old T-shirt into a pencil bag I realized that the thin T shirt material would need more reinforcement if it was going to last long in my possession.

This tutorial includes how to reinforce a single piece of T-shirt fabric and how to attach a non separating zipper to the bag.

Posted by Ryals_Shoal from Marysville, Washington, United States • Published See Ryals_Shoal's 17 projects »
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  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 1
    Step 1

    Start off with an old T-shirt with a logo that you would like to save.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 2
    Step 2

    Take your zipper and compare it with the logo to estimate the size of your bag. I wanted mine a bit longer than the zipper bit so that my knitting needles could fit in the bag.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 3
    Step 3

    Cut out your logo into a square. making sure that the sides are as even as possible. For the reinforcing fabric, cut out a piece the same size as the T-Shirt fabric (I used duck cloth for my reinforcing fabric, which is really tough!)

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 4
    Step 4

    Pin the two pieces of fabric together, with the logo side facing up.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 5
    Step 5

    With your iron set to steam, fold over the edges where you would like the zipper to attach and create a hem for the zipper to sew on to.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 6
    Step 6

    Cut off the uneven edges for a nice straight edge.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 7
    Step 7

    Position your zipper in the middle of the fabric, as even as possible to the parallel edges.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 8
    Step 8

    Gently fold the fabric up and pin it to the zipper, making sure that all corners are straight and even.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 9
    Step 9

    Carefully unzip it. If you used a zipper that pulls apart, simply pull it apart all the way and sew up the edges. If you have a zipper that does not pull apart, follow the following steps.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 10
    Step 10

    Starting from the unzipped end (or the end where the zipper head pulls up to) Sew the hem down to the zipper head, carefully going as far as you can to the bottom without either sewing to the other side or bumping into the zipper head.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 11
    Step 11

    Once you reach that stopping point, pull the bag out and pin one side of the hem to the bottom end of the zipper fabric.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 12
    Step 12

    This is the tricky part, pull the zipper down partways to prevent accidentally sewing over the opposite zipper edge, and sew down starting from the closed end down until you meet with the opposing sewn edge to complete the stitch. Repeat with the other side, being careful not to sew the other T-shirt side to the zipper.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 13
    Step 13

    Once you are done sewing the zipper, take a moment to step back to test the zipper and cut away any loose threads so that they won't get stuck in the zipper teeth.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 14
    Step 14

    Once you are satisfied with the sewn zipper, turn the bag inside out.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 15
    Step 15

    Flatten the bag with the zipper side up, and pin the corners so that they are flat and even together.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 16
    Step 16

    Sew down the corners to the zipper fabric.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 17
    Step 17

    Both ends should be sealed off towards the corners, leaving you with a solid fabric tube.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 18
    Step 18

    Pin the T-shirt fabric to the reinforcing fabric to ensure that the T-Shirt fabric stays flat to the edges.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 19
    Step 19

    Sew straight down the ends.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 20
    Step 20

    Your bag should look like this. The duck cloth was too stiff for sewing fancy edges so I left it as is.

  • How to make a recycled pouch. Reinforced Pencil Bag From An Old T Shirt - Step 21
    Step 21

    Turn the bag inside out, zip it up and it is ready to store your treasures!

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Comments

lena
lena · Richmond, Virginia, US · 2 projects
cute!
Reply
Cupcake girl
Cupcake girl · U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, US · 28 projects
Cool!
Reply

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