Turn Your Shoppers into Upcycled Tissue Holders

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Okay, so it is no secret that I have a lot of lululemon clothing and so that means I have a lot of their shoppers. The shoppers are very handy as they are reusable. Here’s something you may not have thought of – turn them into upcycled tissue holders!

We use lululemon bags to carry library books, music for lessons, sports equipment, lunches – pretty much anything that needs a bag – except groceries. I don’t use them for groceries – I prefer bags with a wider base for that.  There are 2 sizes, both of which are handy. This project works with any reusable shopper – I just happen to have a lot of lululemon ones. What’s good about the lululemon ones is that the bags have fabric handles (not the same material as the actual shopper) which are also used in this project.

Upcycling is very popular. Upcycling is a way of updating or upgrading an item to repurpose it and therefore increase its value.

Tissue covers are handy – I have them everywhere:  my purse, the car, my desk at school, my school bag, my kids’ backpacks. You could always use a tissue. I get the packages of tissue from Daiso but it’s nice to have a cover on them to make them look a little nicer. These upcycled tissue holders are great for those.

I’ve made tissue covers out of fabric before, but the ones made out of the shoppers seem to stand up and hold up a bit better. I will show you how to make these easy to sew tissue holders. You just need to be able to cut straight lines and sew straight lines! What I like about this project is not only does it use the shopper, it also uses the fabric handles of the shopper as well. So other than thread, you don’t need any other supplies.

I find it easier to cut using a quilting ruler and a rotary cutter. But regular sewing scissors work as well.

Step by Step Directions to Make Upcycled Tissue Holders

The final product measures 3 inches by 4 inches as that is the size of my tissue packs. So you will need to cut a piece that is 5.5 by 6.5. For me, the easiest is to use my quilting ruler and my rotary cutter, but a regular ruler and a good pair of scissors also work well. You can manipulate the cutting such that you get a certain picture on the back as I did for some, but you can also just orient it any way you want as they are small and so it doesn’t really matter.

Next, on the end that measures 5.5 inches, you are going to sew the edging on, using the fabric handle.  Fold the fabric handle in half and sew on the edge. This will create a nice finished edge to it.

Now the tab on the side is purely decorative and has no function but I think it looks nice. This is completely optional. Cut a piece of the fabric handle that is 2 inches long. Fold it in half.  Place the tissue cover face up and fold the finished ends to the centre so that the right sides are facing. Slip that tab in underneath on the side that you wish.

The tab should be “sandwiched” in the middle, on the inside.

Sew along the side edges, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Flip the tissue cover around and there you have it! To get my corners out, I used my sewing point turner to help coax them out. Be careful to not poke too hard as you may pierce the shopper and go right through. Pop in a tissue package and there you go! These are definitely easy to sew tissue holders. As I said, you can stash these everywhere so that whenever anyone needs a tissue, they are handy.

These upcycled tissue holders take only a few minutes to do, so you might as well make a bunch. You can get a few out of each shopper, depending on the size.

If you are interested in purchasing some of my tissue covers, check out my Etsy shop here.

Want to remember how to make these upcycled tissue holders? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.