The Re-Recycled Lunch Bag
The re-useable shopping bag. This handy tool has come a long way in the past couple years from when it made its first appearance in the occasional eco-friendly health food stores. Now, they are hanging at the checkout line in almost every store you walk into. From grocery stores to department stores to even shoe stores and craft stores, these totes made from recycled materials are going to be recycled once again in today’s DIY tutorial!
Over the years I have accumulated quite a collection of re-useable shopping bags from various places, and they have served me well acting as beach bags, school bags, gift bags (the cute ones!) and of course, as grocery bags. (When you live in an apartment on the third floor, these become a lifesaver!!)
Adding to that list today comes a tutorial fitting for the back to school season! I am going to show you how to re-use a re-useable shopping bag for a super cute and super easy lunch bag!
Here is what you’ll need:
1. A re-useable shopping bag- the slick, shiny, “plastic” kind. These you will find at clothing stores, home goods stores and in my case, craft stores! These run about 1.00- 1.99 at most stores, but they are free if you already have one! I use this kind because the material is easily washable and very sturdy.
2. Sewing machine threaded with coordinating colored thread- Don’t turn away just yet! There is minimal sewing involved!
3. Straight pins
4. Hook and Loop tape (most commonly referred to as Velcro, however this is a specific brand name)
5. Hot glue gun
6. Ruler or tape measure
7. Scissors (sewing shears not required, any scissors will do)
Instructions:
Cut the straps of the bag off at the very edge of the top. Take one of the straps and measure and cut a 13” piece and a 3” piece. Put those aside.
Open the bag and choose one of the side panels to cut out. All we will be doing is using the bag’s structural pieces and shortening the width. Cut about ½” outside the side panel all the way around. You will want this extra when it comes to the sewing part!
Lay flat the body of the bag to where the attached side panel is folded inside. Taking the tape measure or ruler, measure from the outside edge to where the folded panel stops inside the bag. Write this measurement down somewhere!
Take that number, multiply by two and add 1/2 inch. Mine measured 3.5” so that times two equals 7 inches, plus 1/2 inch equals 7.5 inches total. This will be the width of your lunch bag. Go ahead and measure from the edge of the binding (see picture) to your width measurement. Make a mark with a pen all the way down to the bottom to use as a cutting line.
Take your scissors and cut through all layers of the bag along the line you just drew. Make sure the bag is completely flat. Take this piece and the cut side panel and head over to your sewing machine!
Take the side panel and match it up with the body piece. Carefully put in straight pins through both layers to hold them together while you sew. Just pin one side at a time.
Use a small zig zag stitch from the top of one side to the bottom, taking out the straight pins as you sew. Repeat the pinning and sewing step for the other side.
For the bottom of the panel, you may have to “scrunch” the bag a little to fit it under the machine. Don’t worry about the stitching being perfect- you won’t notice it!
Clip all the loose threads and open up your almost complete lunch bag! Check out all that good sandwich and cookie space!
Fold the bag flat, and choose a side to be the back. Measure from the top about 5.5 inches in two places- mark with a pen. This will be the placement line for the handle.
Take the 13” strap piece you cut and pin and sew with a zig zag stitch across the edge of the strap ends onto the placement lines you just marked. You will have to open the bag to position is correctly under your sewing machine needle.
Take the 3” strap piece and pin in place in the top middle of the same side the handle was sewn on.
Cut off a small piece of the hook and loop tape (about a 1 inch piece) to use as the lunch bag closure. Using the hot glue gun, glue one side of the tape to the inside of the 3 inch piece you just sewed onto the bag. Close this top as if you were using the bag, and mark where the other piece of tape should go. Glue this down as well.
You now have a sturdy, washable, cute, and re-recycled lunch bag!
If you want to re-recycle even more, the extra material from the cut front panels may come in handy for another project! Be creative!
Hmmm… I have a feeling this may become a “to be continued” DIY post…
Happy Crafting!
If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.
Connect to Desiring Virtue: