Easiest Drawstring bag EVER from a t-shirt

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I'm a lazy person. When I lived in an apartment, my curtains were always flat sheets - I mean, they come in a million colors and patterns and already have a built-in rod pocket. How simple is that?

Fast-forward several years, and I'm looking for a way to make really fast bags to store my coin belts for belly dancing. I have a gorgeous one I crocheted, but I really don't want to spend that much time for each one (it's amazing how fast you pile up costumes...)

Someone gave me a pile of t-shirts, and suddenly a light bulb went off over my head... I doubt I'm the only one to ever think of it, but since my searching didn't come up with anything like it (or I would have made tons already...):

You get two bags per t-shirt. First, cut the shirt as shown:



Next, turn the rectangle inside-out, with raw edges matching. Sew (or serge) the bag, starting just under the hem on the folded side.



Stop sewing before you sew over the hem on the other side!



(If you want a prettier finish you can then sew the outsides of the hem channel). This is the bag, sewn, still inside-out. You can also round the bottom edges, whatever you like.



Then run a ribbon, or fabric, or whatever through the hem-channel (I know this one doesn't really match, but it was the right length, and a scrap I had lying around):



TADA!



Obviously, you can embellish the bag with beads, or paint, or bleach... or anything you can think of. Great, simple, five-minute (okay, ten...) bag, especially good for storing a lot of something. You can make them the whole width of the shirt, too, though you would have to cut a hole to get into the hem to run the drawstring.