How to Make Purses From T-Shirts & Duct Tape

Recycling old clothing items into new pieces for your wardrobe is one way to have many options in your closet without breaking the bank. Turn all those T-shirts that aren't the right size but that you don't want to throw out into purses. You can start transforming those shirts into purses with nothing more than a quick trip to the craft store for some inexpensive supplies. You might even start scouring thrift stores for fun vintage tees to transform.

• 1

  Fold the T-shirt in half from left to right. Line up the shoulder seams and sleeves so both halves of the shirt are as perfectly lined up as possible.

• 2

  Lay the folded T-shirt out on the cutting mat. Make a curved cut starting near the top of the folded edge of the shirt, just under the collar, arching down toward the open side of the folded shirt just under the sleeve.

• 3

  Unfold the T-shirt. You now have a shirt cut so that it looks sort of like a half-circle on top of a rectangle. Trim the bottom of the shirt to cut off some of the depth of the purse if desired.

• 4

  Cut out the inside portion of the curved section of the shirt, which will make up the straps of the purse, so that the straps are roughly 3 inches thick.

• 5

  Turn the piece inside out. Cover both sides of the rectangular portion of the cut-up shirt with strips of duct tape. Place the strips so that each strip overlaps the previous strip by about 1 inch. This will make the pouch of the purse more sturdy.

• 6

  Staple the bottom of the purse closed by stapling along the bottom of the T-shirt, placing the staples close together. Fold a strip of duct tape over the bottom stapled edge of the purse to cover the staples.

• 7

  Turn the purse right side out. Cut the straps at the highest point of the arch, and then tie the two halves of each strap together to make them slightly stronger and to add visual interest.