As promised, here is my first free pattern for the crochet drawstring bag made from T-shirt yarn, yup, another recycle project for the environment. You can click the image below to get the free pattern link in acrobat .pdf format.
I am so glad that my blog’s migration is finally over, phew!!! After numerous sleepless nights fighting against broken links, fine tuning on the layout (still doing though), adding plugins, widgets… I am back to posting again, YAY!!!
Before you jump into the free pattern of crochet drawstring bag, below are some of the tips on how to get it done.
Switching Yarn Color
The beauty of T-shirt yarn is that you can make a nice joint for color switching. Simple, just glue the 2 ends with fabric glue. I used Clover fabric bond since it is proven to be long-lasting.
Cut the 2 ends in slanting shape.
Apply glue at a length of 1.5 inch. Join them up as shown.
Wrap the outer yarn onto the inner and make it into tubular form as always. Wait for a few minutes for it to dry and you can continue to crochet.
Another method is to sew them together instead of gluing them.
Eyelet installation
We need to have eyelets fit at the hole we made to run a draw-string. Sandwich the eyelet pair onto the hole and make sure that it covers up the hole nicely, not leaving any gaps around. Hammer the eyelet firmly by using the appropriate tools and fixtures to fit the outer and inner piece of the eyelet to lock into the proper position.
Drawstring
After finished crocheting the drawstring, run it through the eyelet holes. Insert a bead at each end and tie a knot to secure the bead in place.
Attach the shoulder straps and it is done!!!! An environmental friendly T-Shirt Yarn Drawstring Bag is completed.
Should you have any suggestions on what other things you can make from T-shirt yarn, please share with me, I would be more than happy to try it out!!!
Hey,
Thanks so much for sharing this crochet pattern! This is a wonderful activity to take up, and the best part is you can make cute bags like this for yourself, your friends and family!
Best,
Dennis
About how much T-shirt yarn does a Man’s XL T-shirt yield?
Hi E.J., sorry I didn’t record the length.
Just learning to crochet, and this is just what I am looking for.
Will certainly look out for more ideas from you. Thanks.
Craft Passion,
My bag ended up being 11 inches tall and 7 inches wide. I double check my 8mm hook and yarn width, they are correct. I decided to make a second one to check it out again, and again same measurements. Second bag took 5 t shirts (arm pit down) xl shirts. I have no idea where I am going wrong. I do like the larger size my bags are but I am baffled where I am going wrong.
I think it could be your tension is different form mine, so it end up so big.
when crocheting, some people crochet a tighter stitch and some a looser stitch…This is what makes the sizes vary….
Thank you for this fantastic lesson as well as the pattern. I have made one for myself that i carry around when at the camp on the weekends. Many complements. I am currently creating my second for my cousins wife. My motivation came when I had a polithera of both grey and blue tshirts from a company my husband was laid off from back in January of 2013. I had great pleasure in cutting up the tshirt to create the yarn. Thought you might like to know your ideas satisfied more than just adesire to craft and recycle but to redirect the stress associated .
Finally finished one of these bags after having to wait until I was able to find matching T shirt colors. Pattern calls for 2 tee shirts. I started with 2 but was held up when I ran out and couldn’t match. I am now trying to figure out how much in total length yards after pulling do you think it takes? I have found a local store that now carries tshirt yarn. I have been requested to make some for christmas presents but am to lazy to have to make my yarn so I am thinking about buying some pre-done. I think I ended up using 7 shirts(sounds like alot compared to what you suggested). I have tried to calculate but not having much luck. Any help would be appreciated.
7? Why do you need so many, it is such a small bag to crochet, I just used the bottom part (below armpit) of the T-shirt to crochet. I didn’t measure how long a T-shirt can give, so i really don’t know how many yard of T-shirt yarn it will need, but 7 sounds ridiculous. Is it something wrong somewhere?
I have made a second one to try and figure out why I am using so many shirts. 2nd one took 5 shirts xl size, I check my hook, correct size and check my yarn cut to size correctly. My bags are coming out 11 x 7 inches. Crazy
I am wondering how would cut knit fabric to make yarn from it… I can picture cutting the whole length in many strips, but wonder if you have a simpler idea. 🙂 Something more like cutting the shirt, but without working in the round… Thanks!! My daughter was recently given a bunch of fabric and I am pretty sure there was a batch of knit (t-shirt feeling) material in it…
very creative i like your works
Question reguarding with of Tshirt yard. You start (15mm width strands) is this cut at 15mm or they should be 15mm after pulling them? Thanks, can’t wait to get this started
It is before pulling.
Super cute bag! At first, when I saw the top picture, I thought it was a basket, as well. I’m crazy about baskets! I wonder if it would be feasible to crochet a big ol’ basket from t-shirt yarn. It might be floppy, but it would be awesome!
You can crochet a big basket with T-shirt yarn, it won’t go very floppy as long as the yarn is thick enough and your tension is tight enough. Cool idea to make as a laundry basket 🙂
is there any easier way to do this???
You can omit the big eyelets installation and leave the crochet hole to draw the string.
I love the draw string bag idea. My cousin is moving to town & wanted me to teach her to crochet & this seems simple enough for her first project. Thanks!
A suggestion for something else to make would be a rug. You can see mine here: http://pjscraftycreations.blogspot.com/2011/12/t-shirt-rug.html?m=1
But it would be nice if there were a pattern out there rather than making it up as I go… lol!
I am assuming you can knit with this t-shirt yarn, correct? Your idea is fabulous. I must try it however I am a knitter. I see no reason why this wouln’t work. Have you tried knitting with t-shirt and what was the outcome?
Jan
Hi Jan,
Yes, you are right, this T-shirt yarn can be knitted. I haven’t tried out the knitting version yet, but soon…. I just bought some t-shirt fabric by yardage, I am going to make a bigger project with my knitting needles. Hope I can get it done soon, it is in the queue 🙂
Have you made any project with this tee shirt yarn that has been laundered? I would love to try knitting the yarn into a garment. However, I am wondering if all the pulling involved in making the yarn would shrink back in the wash and render garment useless. Thanks.
I washed this bag repeatedly and it is still in good shape, so I believe you will be fine if you are using old T-shirts or pre-washed T-shirt.
love this t-shirt yarn. Can’t wait to try it. Do you have a tutorial for the basket, too?
never mind…I see that what I thought was a basket is actually the bottom of the drawstring bag. 😀
I already knew about the t-yarn concept but your technique for changing colors is awesome! Thanks so much for the pattern too 🙂
Love this!!! I have a ton of old t-shirts.. and no money for actual yarn!!! Do you have any knitting projects with this yarn?? I’m going to try and make this little bag for a soda bottle cosie!! Sweet!!
Hi ShannonG, sorry no knitting project on T-Shirt yarn yet. I am planning to do some until I have collected a decent amount of old T-shirts 🙂
WOW!!! That is amazingly creative! I don’t sew or crochet or anything like that … I don’t have the skills or time with work…. but it was super cool to see!!! And I sure hope it catches on sooner than later for the sheer ingenuity in reusing tshirts that would typically be tossed out. Woot woot to you @craft passion!
Oh my word! This is absolutely AMAZING!! I would never in a zillion years imagine making yarn out of an old T-shirt, but WOW, what a clever idea! I’m gonna have to give it a try – just hope some of my old T’s don’t have seams.
Thanks SO much for sharing.
Judi
HOW CREATIVE!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing your pattern!!!! This will be FUN to try!!!!!!!! 🙂
It is eaiser to make the yarn by just cutting the seam off the bottom, and cutting a continus cut around and around up to the arm pits, unless you have a cat.
Yes, you can do it that way too.
I know this is like years later, but I would love to see a bathing suit cover up made out of t-shirt yarn…
Hi Joanne,
Well I tried to make the yarn and failed! For some reason, my strips became small strips instead of a single long one. But I am taking your advise for changing colors and gluing them together to make one continuous. We will see how it turns out! Love the one you made though! Post my result product on Facebook for you to see when I am finished…If I finish!
Popped over here from HowDoesShe… Certainly glad I did! This is fabulous! Thank you so very much for sharing your talent and inspiration!
What a terrific idea! I’m going to go snag some of hubbies tees and get to work!
I’m going to follow you!
Stop by and visit me sometime!
http://songberries.blogspot.com
Thanks, Susana. I will continue to do all my best in this part 🙂 God bless you too!
this is awesome! I wish my grandma was still around to do this with, she hated to throw away t-shirts! Mahalos for sharing such a unique craft!!!
Great design like the fact its recycled too.. I think a smaller vesion would make a great mobile phone holder!
Yes, that would be a great idea to make it for keeping your handphone 🙂
Hi Jenny, thanks for dropping by and subscribe to my blog.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, thats the way the internet should be! Gorgeous, I cant wait to try one for me
This is a great tutorial. I was beginning to think I was one of very few people who still enjoyed crochet. So many people prefer knitting I worry it will become a lost art. Thanks for the ideas.
Yes, I will certainly do more of this in future!!! Thanks.
Delightful Crochet Bag. Colors and Details make the difference. /;)
Thanks LadyWillow. I like your Recycle Crochet Holders too, we should do more of this in future 🙂
Welcome back! Everything looks great!
Hi Joanne, thanks, yours look great too. Looks like we are doing the same thing at the same time.
Wow! It is so beautiful! I want!
Thanks F4T!!! Throw me some of your old seamless T-shirts!!!