cute diy to-go ware

This post is a bit belated, because I actually made this for a Christmas present for my teaching partner, Nicole. I used to give her a really hard time, because she was so germ phobic that if there was no clean silverware in the lounge, she would use plastic instead of washing some herself. She didn't trust the silverware to be germ-free unless it had gone through the dishwasher cycle.

So I decided to make my own version of to-go ware for her. My mom had ordered something similar off of Etsy, and I used that for the general idea, but what I made for Nicole ended up totally different than the one she has. First I got some bamboo utensils, then I went to the thrift store and found a couple of women's button-down shirts in coordinating colors. I loved the first one; it was a kind of cowgirl-style Lucky Brand shirt with snaps. The second one was just a plain pale pink.

Here's the finished product, unrolled and ready to use:


Nicole keeps hers at school, so she only has to carry it from her classroom to the lounge, but this would totally work to slip into a purse or backpack, or to keep in the glovebox of your car or in the saddlebags of your bike. My mom's has fabric strips that tie together to keep it rolled up, but I used one of the snaps from the Lucky shirt as the fastener. Next time I make one of these it will probably be slightly different, since I specifically designed this one around that particular shirt. I also love how I was able to incorporate the little tag from the placket that says "Lucky You" on the strap. Here it is rolled up, ready to carry:


For the outside, I cut one of the front pockets off the shirt. You'll notice that I used pinking shears to do most of the cutting of the dark pink shirt, just because I'm lazy and hate sewing hems, but I think it ended up looking cool and purposeful, and it echoed some of the design elements in the fabric and stitching.


I cut a square out of the light pink shirt to use as a napkin. It fits perfectly into the little pocket:


I pretty much just made the pattern up as I went along, so it took longer than it would have if I wasn't totally experimenting, but it was still definitely a quick project, definitely doable as a gift. I spent about $5 on the shirts, and $8 on the bamboo utensils, so it was pretty cheap, too! I think that next time I'll make a template instead of freehanding everything.

I'm going to make these for our whole family, eventually (but not 'till after the wedding!) and when I make the next one, I'll take pics as I go so I can post a tutorial. I'm also going to look for actual silverware at thrift stores and garage sales, so that we don't have to buy new bamboo utensils for our whole family.