I recently came across a craft project  involving the use of t-shirts. Most of you might have already seen this before; how to turn a t-shirt into a reusable bag.  So I went to my local thrift store and picked up some really funky t-shirts; one with the Golden Gate Bridge (I love SF!), one with a skull on it, another with a Japanese character and flower….Here is how you make them: (though to be honest I found out how to do it on the Martha Stewart Website…accidentally I swear!)
http://wildonionstudio.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/tee-bags-a-tutorial-to-recycle-a-tee-shirt-into-a-shopping-bag/

Same day, I was on Etsy looking at scarves for some reason and came across a few listings where people were selling scarves made out of old t-shirts..mmm …I sense a theme coming on!

Since t-shirts are easy to find at thrift stores and even for free on freecycle, I decided that I was going to start doing a few t-shirt recycling projects. My only downfall is that I can’t sew, so this is where my partner will come into play! (little does he know what I have in store for him) *grin*

There are a few ways to make scarves out of old t-shirts, here is one I found online which I thought was pretty darn resourceful and cool:  http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_clothing/article/0,,diy_13751_5193021_04,00.html

Since I am too impatient to sew, I found another way to make a neck warmer out of old t-shirts. T-shirts are great because they don’t fray. I just cut about 3 inches from the bottom of the t-shirt across and there is my neck warmer (which I double up and put around my neck)! I cut out an old white t-shirt and decided to use natural dyes from my kitchen to colour it. I used the natural dye list from Pioneer thinking here: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html

I used a combination of black tea bags and a jar of homemade pickled beets which turned my neckwarmer a peachy colour. This would be a good spring scarf because it’s light. You have to soak it in vinegar as well as the natural dye (or salt if using berriest warm but you can make it fashionable looking.

Upon doing more research, I found other uses for using old t-shirts, including:
T-Shirt Bikini:
http://www.threadbanger.com/post/999/how-to-make-a-hot-bikini-out-of-old-t-shirts

T-Shirt Purse: http://diyfashion.about.com/od/diyaccessories/ss/TShirtPurse.htm

Sweater Bag (not a t-shirt but close!):  http://frugalliving.about.com/od/craftsgifts/ss/Sweater_Bag.htm

Revamping your t-shirts into new pieces: http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/kids_crafts/2_ways_to_restyle_a_t_shirt.php

T-Shirt Shrug: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/tshirt_shrug

There are so many things you can do with t-shirts! I am going to make a t-shirt bag for my mom and put her mothers day gifts in there. If you can’t sew, you can use fabric glue to seal the bottom of the shirt of the bags so go ahead and give it a try!