Upcycled Produce Bags - A Tutorial
Dawn
I've been meaning to do this for some time, but just haven't gotten around to it.  Today, it seems was the lucky day to get it done!  This tutorial will show you how to make three bags.  2 smaller ones for smaller veggies or things like kiwi, lemons and limes.  And one larger wide one for bananas or whatever else fits.
You can play around with your shirts and sizes you cut to suit your needs when you shop.

What you need for this project:

  1. A few old t-shirts - the one for this tutorial is kid size large
  2. Fabric Scissors
  3. Sewing machine
  4. Thread
  5. Pen

I also used: (optional)

  • Self healing mat
  • Rotary cutting blade


First thing you want to do is lay your shirt out flat, then make a marking line and cut it in half.

Then, take the bottom section and cut it in half again.  

Taking one section of what you've cut, fold it in half and even out the edges as best you can.  Choose one of the edges to be the top and cut a rounded shape in it to be the bag's handle.  Then open it back up and pin the right edges and bottom together.


Once you have the sides and edges pinned it's time to sew.  I chose to do French seams to make them a little stronger since it's knit and going to be carrying some weight about.  No idea what a French seam is?  No worry, it's easy.  Again, we have wrong sides together here, like it would be when it's finished.  We're going to use a zigzag stitch just at the edges to close them.

Now, turn your bag inside out.  We're going to finish the French seam by sewing a straight line about a 1/4" into the bag from the zigzag seam we just made.  Pin it again if you need to to make everything even and straight.  Then sew.  Turn inside right again, and your seams are done.  No more sewing on this bag!

The next steps are just cutting.  Lay your bag out flat once again, and mark a spot for the handle.  If you have a cutting mat and rotary cutter, it starts to come in handy about now.  I made my cuts starting about 2" down from the handle and staggered them.  Each cut is an inch with a half inch between cuts.  They don't have to be perfect, just do what works for you.  When you're finished you'll end up with bags that look like this:

Make your other two bags the same way.  I cut the sleeves off my t-shirt for the wider bag and evened it up with the rotary cutter.  Then used the same steps for the smaller bags.




You can find this tutorial and a few others here! ThriftyThursdayModernButton1 Thrifty Thursday Week 77
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1 Response
  1. Unknown Says:
    Jun 4, 2012, 5:23:00 PM

    What a clever idea! I’d love for you to share this project on Tuesday’s Tidbits @ Naptime Delights: http://naptimedelights.blogspot.ca/2012/06/tuesdays-tidbits-3.html

    Thanks so much!
    Sarah
    {http://naptimedelights.blogspot.com}


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