New Thing #122--Waste Not Want Not

I got a new nightgown for Mother's Day...a Land's End Short Sleeve Knee-length Sleep-T. It's exactly what I wanted to replace the one I've been wearing for several years that was starting to get all stretched out of shape. The question was, what to do with the old one? Today I made a tote bag from an old t-shirt.

Every store is now selling "green" reusable bags, usually with the store logo predominantly featured. Why should I spend money and waste more resources to have reusable bags? I have a motley collection in my car; an old preschool bag and a vacation-souvenir gift are the ones I use most often, but I can always use more.

My nightgown had a small neckline, but wanted a larger opening than its jewel-neck would provide. I saw a post on a blog a couple of weeks ago that used a tank top as the basis for the tote. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact site today. I ended up combining elements from a couple of different Websites for my finished bag.

I cut the sleeves off, took a bit off the sides, squared off the neckline, and cut about 8 inches off the bottom. I sewed the sides and bottom on the sewing machine, and reinforced the seams with another row of stitching. When I was all done, I turned the bag right side out and voilà! A tote bag was born.

I chose not to reinforce the handles of this bag, so it will be light duty. However, it packs much smaller than any of the other ones I've accumulated. I rolled it up and used the handles to keep it secure. It will be handy to carry in my purse when I'm just going into the store for a couple of things.

I even took the material I cut off the bottom of the gown and made cleaning rags out of it. I felt good about not throwing any of it away.