THIS IS HOW I MADE A CLOTH GROCERY BAG
I get in modes where I want to do everything I can for Earth. And really, I’m doing okay compared most people my age I think. But I could always do MORE.
Cloth grocery bags, if you don’t get them from Whole Foods when they’re giving them out for free on Earth Day, are kind of expensive. That’s lame. So I decided to try and make one.
The size I wanted was about the size of this paper bag. I looked at how the thing was made.
Then, I looked at what I had in my fabric stash. I was going to go buy more fabric, but where’s the sport in that? I had some leftover flannel from all my quilting projects. They were in weird strips and irregular bits.
I lined them up next to my model. Oddly, each piece was almost exactly what I needed in terms of length.
I used the following pieces:
- A piece for the skinny sides, that included both sides and the bottom.
- A piece for both fat sides, also including the bottom
- Two straps
- Two strap enforcers
- Some cotton to reinforce everything, since flannel is not all that strong and could stretch out.
Then I sewed it together. Then I blanket stitched the outside a little, and the side seems to make it more boxy.
And now I have a cloth grocery bag to forget at home. So far the only place I reliably use it is the farmer’s market, but I guess that’s appropriate.
