To make fabric bags, you need access to a sewing machine, but don't even need to sew all that straight. Remember, you just need to make them prettier than the ugly plastic things you're using now. How hard can that be?
For an animation,
click here.
-Reuse fabric from sheets or
clothes or buy the fabric
(sheets from a thrift store or
fabric store likely costing
$2.75 per meter for fancy new
fabric or about $3 for a sheet
which is larger and can produce
about 8 bags).
-Wash the fabric in hot water
before cutting.
-Flat sheets are easiest, but
fitted ones will work too.
You'll just need to cut off the
elastic (click
here to see how to reuse
it).
-Cut as many 18" x 42"
rectangles as you can from the
sheet. (This results in a fairly
big bag that's about 17 inches
square. You can easily make it
bigger or smaller, depending on
your needs- and the size of your
sheet. Regular plastic grocery
bags are only about 11 by 13
inches. I'm thinking of making
some more that are smaller and
labeling the big ones with
'Light Items Only' because a big
bag full of cans is way too
heavy, but can be perfect for
that jumbo sized toilet paper.)
-Basically, you're just sewing a
very crude bag, with no lining.
I kept it simple so I could make
bunches of them. There's only
one little trick that I figured
out, shown in the next few
pictures.
-Fold in half, wrong side
together and pin like shown,
about 3 inches from bottom.
Now, pull top down...
til it's even with the pins
(creating a fold from pin to
pin)...
grasp all four layers of fabric
at pins...
and lift up. Then lay it back
down flat.
Note- I just replied to a reader
who had some confusion with this
step. Here is the clarification
I gave her "First of all, when
you pull the top down, you’ll be
pulling both corners of the
front straight down till there
is a fold right even with the
pins. At this point, yes, you
will have 3 layers, but when you
pinch at the pins and lift up,
the back of the bag will fall
over your fingers and make four
layers (you’ll have to
reposition your fingers at this
point). I actually fold the back
layer down as I’m pinching, so
that, in essence, I am grabbing
four layers all at once."
-The wrong sides will now be
facing out.
(This is much less complicated
than it sounds. Thus all the
pictures.)
-Sew up the sides. The third
option on
this tutorial shows how to
run both a straight stitch and a
zig zag stitch in order to
finish the edges nicely.
Unfortunately, because of the
folds in the seam, a French seam
won't work here. The zig zag
does the trick, though.
-If you want to check that you
did this right, flip it right
side out. It should look like
this.
-Turn the bag back inside out
and iron each seam to one side.
-Fold down top edge of bag about
1/4 inch and iron. (Ya, in these
pictures the top of the bag is
actually at the bottom of the
picture.)
-Now fold the top down again
about 2 inches. Iron.
-I pin in squares of scrap
fabric to reinforce where the
handles go (about 5 inches from
the edge). You can use denim or
canvas. Just make sure they're
right up against the top fold so
they get sewn in with the next
seam.
-Now, sew two seams all the way
around the top of the bag, one
1/4 inch seam parallel to the
very top fold and one 1/4 inch
up from the bottom fold.
-After that, you can turn it
right side out and attach the
handles.
-You can use webbing (like I did
here) or
sew your own handles out of
sturdy fabric. I fold the cut
edge underneath to keep it from
fraying. This step is probably
the most difficult; keep with
it, it just takes practice.
-Just make sure to keep the rest
of the handle out from under the
presser foot.
-You can attach the handles to
the inside or outside of the
bag, depending on the look you
prefer.
That's it. For more patterns and
ideas visit http://curbly.com/chrisjob/posts/4179-35-free-patterns-for-reusable-grocery-bags.
Source: Cheap and Easy Fabric Bags, online at http://wisdomofthemoon.blogspot.com/2008/01/cheap-easy-fabric-grocery-bags.html.
