T-Shirt Sleeve Drawstring Bags (with Video Tutorial)

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If you use old t-shirts to make T shirt yarn you will have leftover sleeves. Instead of throwing the shirt sleeves away, you can easily repurpose them to make small drawstring bags!

Two t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags, one blue holding marbles and one red holding four colorful carabiner keychains, are displayed on a white background.

These DIY t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags are perfect for small items, such as:

Game pieces
Legos or plastic building blocks
Marbles
Dominoes
Playing cards
Dice
Hair accessories
Doll accessories
Snack bags

A red t-shirt sleeve drawstring bag with gingham ties is surrounded by several black domino tiles on a white background.

This is just one of our easy sewing projects that cost less than $1 to make!

How to Make a Drawstring Bag from T-Shirt Sleeves

The bigger the sleeve, the bigger the bag you will make. This tutorial works the same for any size sleeve.

Two fabric face masks lie flat on a white background, one blue with blue ribbons and one red with red and white checked ribbons—perfectly coordinated like t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags for your everyday essentials.

When sewing jersey knit fabric, it is recommended to use a ball point sewing needle. However, with this project I chose to use my normal sewing needle and it worked fine.

Supplies

T-shirt sleeve (short sleeve, not long sleeve)
Thin Ribbon, Cord or T-shirt Yarn
Small safety pin
Scissors or Rotary Cutter
Ball Point / Jersey Fabric Sewing Machine Needle (optional)

Directions

Cut the sleeve off of the t-shirt close to the seam, but do not include the thick hem on your fabric.

A piece of red fabric, possibly from a t-shirt sleeve, is cut into an angled shape and placed on a black grid cutting mat—perfect for making drawstring bags.

Even off the cut end of the sleeve with a straight line to be parallel to the existing finished hemmed edges.

To keep as much fabric as possible in the bag, I laid a ruler at the widest edge of the cut sleeve, then drew a straight line across the sleeve.

A rotary cutter and clear ruler rest atop a red fabric piece—possibly for t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags—all arranged neatly on a black cutting mat with a white grid.

Cut away the excess fabric.

A piece of red t-shirt sleeve fabric with a serged edge lies on a black cutting mat marked with a white grid and centimeter measurements, ready to be transformed into handy drawstring bags.

Optional: I wanted to keep as much fabric as possible for the drawstring bag, so I did not even out the angled side. If you would like to square off the side, draw another straight line on the sleeve up and down, then cut. Turn the sleeve inside out and sew those raw edges together. Then continue with the remainder of this tutorial.

Turn the sleeve inside out.

Sew along the long cut edge, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Use a small zig-zag stitch, if possible. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a piece of red fabric, with the needle and presser foot clearly visible, ideal for creating t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags.

Helpful Hint: Zig-zag stitching allows the t-shirt fabric to stretch. Smaller stitch length will allow for the most stretching. However, these small bags will likely not receive much stretching on the bottom during their use, so it would be okay to use a normal stitch if you are not comfortable changing the settings of your machine.

A red piece of fabric, possibly from a t-shirt sleeve, with zigzag stitching on one edge and straight stitching on top, placed on a black and white grid cutting mat—ideal for crafting drawstring bags.

Turn the drawstring bag inside out so that the right sides are facing outwards.

(I forgot to take pictures with the red sleeve, so the rest of the photos are with the blue sleeve bag I made.)

Now it’s time to cut small slits in the t-shirt sleeve hems (the ones the t-shirt came with) to make the drawstring cord casings. These cuts will be on the natural folds of the sleeve, which are now the outer corners of the drawstring bag.

Using small sewing scissors, cut through the folded hem up to the stitching but do not cut through the stitching.

A hand holds the hem of a blue t-shirt sleeve, showing close-up details of the stitching, against a black grid cutting mat—perfect for making drawstring bags.

Make one cut on each folded edge. On one of the edges you will have the stitched seams, which will be bulky and not allow you to pass a cord through the casing. Cut away the stitching, making a very small square to remove the bulk.

A hand holds a blue knit t-shirt sleeve with a small matching cut-out piece, showing the hem and stitching detail against a black grid background—perfect for crafting drawstring bags.

Cut two lengths of cord or ribbon for the drawstrings. For the measurement, lay the ribbon across the top of the drawstring bag. Double that measurement then add 2-3 inches.

Using one piece of ribbon, attach a small safety pin to the end. Insert the safety pin through one open end of a casing. Using a push then pull method, work the safety pin through the casing to come out the other side.

A hand holds a blue ribbon with a safety pin attached, next to a blue fabric piece—perfect for crafting t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags—on a black grid cutting mat.

Be sure to hold on to the other cut end of the ribbon so that you don’t accidentally pull it completely through the casing! (Ask me how I know, LOL!)

Once the safety pin has been drawn through one casing, put it into the other casing and use the same method to draw it through. Once the safety pin comes out the other side, adjust the gathers on the bag so that you have the long ends of the ribbon hanging out. Then tie the ends of the ribbon in a knot.

Repeat this same process using the other piece of ribbon. Insert the safety pin into a casing on the side with the folded ribbon going through the casings (not the side with the knotted ribbon).

Optional: You could just use one piece of ribbon if you choose to have just one drawstring.

A hand holds a blue t-shirt sleeve drawstring bag with a blue ribbon threaded through the top seam, set against a black grid background.

After both ribbons are drawn through the casings in opposite directions, your small drawstring bag pouch is done!

A small red fabric pouch, reminiscent of t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags, with a gathered top and two red gingham ribbon ties, placed on a black grid cutting mat.

Want to watch me make these bags? Check out our YouTube video below:

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DIY tutorial image featuring t-shirt sleeve drawstring bags storing marbles, scissors, and dominoes, with the text "How to Sew T-Shirt Sleeve Drawstring Bags.

These small drawstring bags are a favorite Operation Christmas Child shoebox sewing project, especially if you are already making t-shirt jump ropes.

Drawstring bags are so easy to make! See these bag variations next: