T-Shirt Backpack

There are certain things you need in life that you absolutely have to buy. The item is impossible to make by yourself so you have no choice. There are many other things, though, that you need and can make yourself. Kids, in particular, require lots of things that cost money. Buy what you have to then make what you can yourself. One useful thing you can easily make for a child is a cloth backpack. You wont have to run out and buy fabric but you will need a few items to help you create the easy backpack.

Materials needed: 1 t-shirt Grommet kit cord Choose a t-shirt that you want to use for making the backpack. Its best to select one that has no printing or images. Thats because, in the end, the image will be upside-down on the backpack. If you want, you can later stamp or paint an image or words onto the front of the backpack.

Turn the chosen shirt inside-out and lay it on a table. Start below one underarm area and cut over to the opposite side. You will be using the bottom portion of the shirt to make the backpack. Before going further use the lower portion of the shirt to measure the cord needed for the straps on the backpack. Cut the cord to be about six times the width of the shirt. The cord you use can be cotton clothesline cord or something similar. You can even use wide ribbon. Use a machine or hand stitch the cut area of the t-shirt. Simply sew along the two cut edges so that you sew them together, about a half-inch from the edge. Turn the shirt right-side-out. Lay the shirt so that the hem is facing you. Find a point thats halfway between the two side seams - or two sides if there are no seams. Cut a small hole on the underside, in the hem, so that you can slide a cord into the hemline. The hem will become the pocket for the cord. Hooking a safety pin onto one end of the cord can help you feed it through the pocket. After the cord is through, divide the remaining cord so that it hangs evenly on each side. At the end that you stitched shut you will install the grommets. The grommets you use should be slightly larger in diameter than the cord. Follow the instructions on the grommet kit and place one at each corner of the bag. After the grommets are in place, take the left hand cord, thread it through the left grommet, and tie a knot. Do the same to the right hand side. Now the child can simply slip his arms through the cords and wear the backpack anywhere he - or she - wants.