Embroidered Sweatshirt Tote

Take all the reasons you love sweatshirts -- they're soft, cozy, colorful, and sturdy -- and then add one more: they can be turned into a handy tote!

With some measuring, cutting, and stitching, you can create a very cute bag (with a pocket!) With clever cutting the bag can made with almost one continuous piece. The pocket and embellishments are made from the scraps. Add embroidery you love, and this bag becomes a real keeper.

Read below for these free project instructions!

Supplies & Materials:

Supplies Needed:

A crewneck sweatshirt (we used a men's medium size)
Medium weight cutaway stabilizer
Air-erase pen (or other marking tool)
Temporary spray adhesive
5/8 inch ribbon
Needle and thread for some hand sewing
Small pom-poms for embellishments (optional)

Designs used:

I used the medium size of Green is the New Black and the small size of Bird's Eye View Silhouette. Australian Wildflowers and Country Go 'Round designs would be very cute on a sweatshirt tote, too.

Finished Size:

11" wide by 9 1/2" high with a 45" handle

**We used a men's medium size sweatshirt for this project. You may use any size sweatshirt you would like, but keep in mind, the final size of the bag will depend on the original size of the sweatshirt.

Gather Materials:

To begin, "square off" the top of the sweatshirt. To do this, lay the shirt flat with the right side up. Using an air erase pen (or other marking tool), draw a horizontal line between the side shoulder seams just under the bottom of the collar.

Light yellow sweatshirt laid flat on a dark wooden table with a gray metal ruler held horizontally across the chest area for measurement.

Cut out the shape along the line you just drew and the shoulder seams - cut through both the front and back layers. You can pin the layers together before cutting if they shift around.

Light yellow sweatshirt cut into pieces on a dark wooden table, including a long main body section and a separate sleeve with visible seams.

Measure and mark the sides so that they can be cut out as well. This reduces the width of the purse, making it a nice size. Measure and mark 5 inches down from the recently cut top edge along the shoulder seam. Do this on both shoulders.

Hand marking yellow sweatshirt fabric with purple marker using a metal ruler for measurement on a dark wood surface.

Measure and mark 4-1/2 inches in towards the center of the shirt from the marks you just made. Then, draw lines to connect the marks.

Yellow fabric laid flat on a table with a metal ruler placed horizontally. A hand is holding a pen near the ruler's edge. Background shows a blue wall and corner outlet.

Measure and mark 4-1/2 inches in from each bottom corner of the shirt and then draw vertical lines to connect the ends of the top lines with the marks you just made.

Hand holds blue pen drawing a line on yellow fabric with a 12-inch metal ruler on a dark wooden surface. Fabric is laid flat and partially folded.

Cut out the shape following the drawn lines and the bottom of the shoulder seam. Be sure to cut through both the front and back layers of the shirt.

Light yellow sweatshirt laid flat on a table with side panels cut out. A hand holds orange scissors cutting one of the side pieces. Blue surface visible.

Let's prepare the fabric for the embroidery.

We are placing a design on one side of the bag and an embroidered pocket on the opposite side.

First we'll start with the side design. Lay the shirt flat with the front side facing up (lay the back layer aside). You will notice that after cutting, the shirt forms a "T" shape. Measure and mark the center of the fabric in between the bottom corners of the top of the "T" by measuring and dividing by two.

Hand holding blue marker draws a line on yellow fabric with a metal Westcott ruler placed horizontally on a wooden surface.

Measure and mark 4-1/2 inches down from each of the bottom corners of the top of the "T" along the sides. Draw a line to connect the side marks. Then, mark the center of the line by measuring and dividing by two. Finally, draw a line to connect the top center mark and the center mark on the line. These lines will be used for hooping.

Create a paper template of the design by printing it at full size using embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the design to help with placement and centering.

Poke a hole in the center of the template and align it with the center point on the fabric. Make sure the design fits well within the space -- there should be at least one inch of space between the side edges of the design and the edges of the fabric. Also, the design should not extend up past the bottom corners of the top of the "T".

Hand holds blue pencil, marking two intersecting lines on yellow fabric using a silver metal Westcott ruler for measurement and alignment.

Start Embroidering:

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric.

Cream-colored sweatshirt fabric with a rectangular embroidery hoop holding fabric taut. Blue water-soluble stabilizer inside the hoop. Hand with ring on pinky near the edge. Wood surface beneath. Thin red lines marked on stabilizer intersect at center.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design.

For more information on embroidering sweatshirts click here.

Close-up of embroidery machine stitching "GARDEN is the new" in blue and red thread on light yellow fabric, with part of a blue and green floral design above the text.

When the design has finished, unhoop the fabric and trim away the excess stabilizer on the back of the embroidery.

Orange scissors cutting white iron-on transfer paper with partially visible blue and green embroidery design on yellow fabric background.

Next, we will prepare the pocket for the side of the bag. Take one of the scraps from the sides of the shirt and lay it flat. Then, cut the fabric in half along the seam.

Hand holding orange-handled scissors cutting the sleeve of a pale yellow sweatshirt on a dark wood surface.

Draw a 6 inch wide by 7-1/2 inch high rectangle on the fabric (our fabric was already cut to 6 inches wide). Then, print a template of the design as you did earlier and position it about 4 inches from the top line to the center of the design. Center the design left and right by measuring and dividing by two. Poke a hole in the center of the template and mark the fabric. Also, mark the horizontal and vertical axis points.

Hand tracing around a square fabric patch with embroidery of a bird on branches, placed on a yellow fabric piece on a dark wood table.

Remove the template and draw lines connecting the axis marks. Then, spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design, move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric and embroider the design.

Yellow fabric hoop with gray embroidery frame and stabilizer underneath, aligned with red marks at center crossing; hand adjusting fabric on right side.

When the design is finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the back of the embroidery. Then, cut out the shape.

Yellow fabric piece with black embroidery of a bird on a branch inside a square outline, next to a smaller cut fabric piece and a pair of scissors.

Cut another piece of shirt scrap to the shape of the embroidered piece - this will be the inside of the pocket. Align the pieces right sides facing and pin along the bottom edge.

Folded yellow fabric pinned with three pins, showing partial black embroidery of tree branches, placed on a dark wooden surface.

Sew a 1/4 inch seam along the bottom edge only. Then, fold the front and back of the pocket wrong sides together and press the bottom seam with an iron.

Yellow square fabric piece with black embroidery of a bird on a branch inside a framed square, iron pressing the fabric on a blue surface.

We will now create the top cuff of the pocket. Trim away any seam fabric along the bottom edge of the bottom cuff scrap of the shirt. Then, cut a piece of the cuff to the width of the top edge of the pocket.

Cut pieces of cream-colored fabric on a dark wood surface, one piece embroidered with a black bird on a branch inside a square outline; scissors nearby.

Wrap the cuff around the top edge of the pocket with the raw edges on the backside of the pocket. Pin in place and sew a seam along the inner edge of the cuff (on the front side).

Hand holding the top corner of a yellow fabric tote with black embroidery of a bird on tree branches inside a rectangular border. Wood surface background.

It's now time to attach the pocket.

Lay the shirt with the back facing up (make sure the front layer is pushed out of the way). Lay the pocket on the back of the shirt with the top edge of the pocket about one inch from the bottom corners of the top of the "T". Center the pocket side to side by measuring equal distances between the edges of the pocket and the edges of the fabric. Then, cut two 12 inch strips of 5/8 inch wide ribbon.

Fold the bottom end of the ribbon over 1/2 inch and then lay the strips of ribbon over the sides of the pocket with the folded end aligned with the bottom corners of the pocket (half of the width of the ribbon should overlap over the edges of the pocket). Pin in place.

Yellow fabric with green straps pinned to it, featuring an embroidered square patch of a black bird perched on tree branches; a hand rests nearby.

Sew a 1/8 inch seam all the way around the outer edges of both pieces of ribbon. Then, sew a 1/2 inch seam on the bottom edge of the pocket.

Close-up of an embroidery machine stitching a black bird on a branch design on pale yellow fabric, pinned with green-edged sections and a sewing clip.

Now we will finish cutting the back and sleeves of the shirt in order to create the handles on the bag.

Align the front and back of the shirt right sides facing and pin along the sides. Draw a vertical line up one inch starting at the bottom corners of the top of the "T".

Yellow fabric laid flat with a white patch pinned near the center displaying reversed blue text "BLACK GREEN" and a flower, a hand holds a ruler along its edge.

Cut slits in both layers of the fabric by cutting along the line you just drew.

Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the sides of the shirt starting one inch from bottom of the cuff and ending at the top of the slits (the one inch slits at the bottom cuff will wrap around the top edges of the bag later on).

Close-up of yellow sweatshirt fabric on a table with a person's hand cutting a small seam with scissors near a blue sewing pin and a fabric label showing partial cursive text and a tree design.

On the back of the shirt, draw a horizontal line to connect the top of the slits.

Light yellow sweatshirt fabric laid flat on a dark wooden table, with a metal ruler measuring across the top edge. A hand holds the fabric steady.

Cutting the back layer only, cut along this line and along the shoulder seams. Do not cut the front layer on this step!

Hand holding orange scissors cutting pale yellow fabric on dark wooden surface, with fabric edges visible.

Next, cut along the bottom seams of the sleeves to open them up then, lay the sleeves flat.

Hand cutting a beige sweatshirt sleeve with orange-handled scissors on a wood-grain surface. The sleeve is laid flat and being trimmed.

Draw a vertical line across the sleeve using the bottom of the "T" as a guide.

Yellow sweatshirt laid flat on a dark wooden table with one sleeve extended. A metal ruler is placed diagonally across the sweatshirt, held by a hand.

Draw a vertical line across the sleeve using the top of the "T" as a guide.

Yellow sweatshirt fabric laid flat on a dark table with a metal ruler and hand marking a diagonal line on the fabric using a blue pen.

Square off the end of the fabric and cut out the shape. Do this on both sleeves.

Pair of scissors cutting a yellow fabric triangle on a dark wood table, next to a folded yellow fabric strip. Hand holding the scissors.

Align the short ends of the sleeves right sides facing and pin in place. Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the short end only.

Close-up of a pale yellow sweatshirt sleeve pinned with blue and white head pins on a dark wood surface. A hand with a silver ring holds the fabric.

Fold the bottom edge of the "T" in one inch all the way around the loop and press in place.

Close-up of a yellow fabric folded and pressed with a steam iron on a blue fabric surface, showing stitching along the fold line.

Then, fold the top edge of the "T" in to meet the raw edge of the first fold and press.

Yellow sweatshirt fabric strips being pressed with a white SteamExpress iron on a light blue surface, held by a hand on the right side.

Fold the folded edge of the top edge over to meet the folded edge of the first fold, press, and pin in place.

Hand holding a yellow fabric strap pinned with sewing pins on a wooden surface, likely part of a sewing or crafting project.

Fold the handle over the top edge of the bag then...

Hand holding the edge of a yellow fabric tote bag with an embroidered patch displaying blue text and floral designs, on a wooden surface.

...fold again so that the top edge of the handle is aligned with the top edge of the bag and pin in place.

Yellow fabric piece with blue and white embroidery, pins along the edge, and a hand holding the fabric on a dark wood surface.

Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the open edge of the handle starting and stopping at the top corners of the bag.

Close-up of a yellow fabric strip being sewn on a white sewing machine with a red pin attached to the fabric under the needle.

Now, sew a few stitches in the center of the handle at the top of the bag to tack it in place.

Close-up of sewing machine stitching yellow fabric next to a white piece embroidered with green floral designs and cursive text.

To create the lining of the bag, start by turning the bag right side out. Bring the bottom cuff of the bag up through the center and fold the cuff over the top edge of the bag. Wrap the cuff around the top corners of the bag and hand stitch in place. Then, hand sew the entire bottom edge of the bag closed. Also, sew a few stitches in the center of the cuff at the top of the bag on both sides to hold the cuff in place.

Hand sewing yellow fabric with green trim using needle and white thread; fabric appears to be part of a handmade tote bag on a wooden surface.

We added embellishments like a ribbon bow and fabric rosettes at the top edges. To make the rosettes cut a piece of scrap fabric 16 inches wide by 4 inches high. Fold the fabric lengthwise, press, and pin in place.

Hand with a ring resting next to a folded yellow fabric strip on a dark wood grain surface.

Fold the corners down as shown and pin in place.

Close-up of a yellow fabric strip pinned with two sewing pins, one in the center and one near a folded triangular end, held on a wooden surface.

Using a basting stitch, sew a 1/2 inch seam along the raw edges only. Then, gently pull the bobbin thread to cinch the fabric. Form the fabric into a flower shape and hand sew the backside to hold it in place. Now, sew the rosette to the bag. We added a few small pom-poms inside one of our rosettes to add color and texture.

Hand pulling a needle and thread to gather and sew a yellow fabric circle on a dark wooden surface.

Get Inspired:

Soft yet sturdy, with a handy pocket, this sweatshirt tote bag is a refreshing change from the classic canvas. With embroidery designs on both sides, it looks charming, too!

Woman with brown hair tied back wears a gray long-sleeve shirt and blue scarf, carrying a yellow tote bag with green trim and black bird embroidery on front pocket.