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Happy Thursday! I have a fun pair of upcycled lined drawstring bags to share today! Plus a little how-to on cutting up a button down shirt.
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A couple weeks ago I picked up two button down shirts at the thrift store. They were half price, so they were a bargain. I knew I wanted to turn them into holiday gift bags, so I picked out two that felt festive. I ended up with a red and white stripe and a muted green.
I was inspired to make drawstring bags with shirts by
Leigh. She made a bunch of drawstring bags using thrifted shirts (see them
here) and I just loved the idea!
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I wasn't sure exactly what I'd do until I cut up the shirts, but I'm so pleased with how they turned out! I decided to use the pockets on the fronts of each bag, as an extra spot for a gift! I cut around each pocket leaving about an inch of the background fabric. Then I used the method outlined in the
lined drawstring bag expansion pattern to center the pockets and figure out the borders needed to create the bag exterior.
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This is the Project size bag, and I featured the stripe fabric as the main exterior fabric. It was a little fussy working with the stripes, but I think it looks pretty good!
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For the second bag I featured the green shirt fabric and made an Artist size. Both bags are lined with Essex linen and have natural cotton
twill for ties. I interfaced all the shirt fabric with a woven interfacing to give it a little extra weight. The green fabric probably would have been fine without it, but the stripe was pretty thin.
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The backs are plain! There was enough fabric from both shirts that I could have made them plain on both sides. It's such an economical way to make gift bags. These sizes are available in the
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern.
Now, for a little how-to on cutting up a shirt! There are many different ways to go about cutting up a shirt for fabric, this is just the way I did it. I knew I was going to use this fabric for drawstring bags, so these steps made the most sense for the project I was making. Think about how you're going to use the shirt fabric before you start cutting so that you can get the most out of it.
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First, find some shirts! Use up shirts that have stains, holes, or were headed to the thrift shop. If you don't have any on hand, stop by your local thrift store. I started in the men's shirts, working my way from the largest sizes to the smaller sizes. I choose shirts that were discounted, which means they had been there for a while.
Once you've got your shirts, give them a good wash and dry!
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Cut away the collar and button bands down the front of the shirt.
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Next, cut away the bottom hem.
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Cut the sleeves off at the shoulder seams.
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Cut off the cuff from each sleeve.
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Cut off the seam on each sleeve.
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Cut the side seams off of the shirt body.
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Cut each front panel from the yoke at the shoulder seam. Cut the shirt back from the yoke.
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Cut the sleeve seams from the front pieces and back piece.
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Here is the shirt all cut up! You'll end up with two front pieces, a back piece, and two sleeves. Plus a bunch of leftover pieces that were cut off like the cuffs and collar.
Happy Sewing!