Scrapppy Reusable Produce Bag Tutorial

October is Scrapbusters Month over at http://www.sewmamasew.com/ and I decided to get into the spirit and use up some of my scraps. I ended up making lots of things, but I thought that this would be pretty useful for most as an alternative to the rolls of plastic produce bags in the grocery store. The measurements are very flexible, and I think that having bars of cotton fabric instead of total construction of mesh will help it hold up longer. Another bonus is that this is a project that it doesn't judge...if you stitch a seam crooked...it still functions!

****Edit****
I clarified reinforcing the mesh in this video. It is a little rough holding the camera and recording, but I hope it helps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7LC02TxmSo

*****

Materials:

scraps of mesh (I found this as a remnant in the fabric store, but repurposed sheer curtains, and netting works also.)

Length of ribbon (mine was 24 inches)

Fabric scraps--I used pieces from my cut 2.5 inch strip bin (which is the same as a jelly roll width)-what a great way to use some of those leftover prints!

Getting Started:

1. Cut the mesh you have to a rectangle shape. This can vary--I made a bag large enough for a few pounds of apples...you may want just enough for a few onions. I will give my measurements throughout. Mesh = 12 inches x 22 inches



2. Cut Fabric to size.




Top fabric: 4" x 22"


Two pieces of side fabric: 1.5" x 12"


Bottom piece: 2.5" x 22"





3. Prepare Top Casing

Fold in half (wrong side together) along the 22" length and iron. Fold 1/2" in on each side and press. (see drawing)






4. Attach Top Casing

Open up and use a zig-zag stitch to attach mesh to casing. I made sure the stitching was about 1/2" into the mesh to help it not tear too easily.



Fold over casing and stitch in place.

5. Attach the bottom piece to the mesh with a zig-zag stitch (outside of mesh bag is touching the right side of fabric.

After, fold the seam down and stitch it to the bottom again.

6. Stitch sides to the mesh in the same manner as the bottom.

7. Fold outside of bag together and stitch along the side and bottom. Turn right side out.

8. Use a safety pin to thread ribbon through casing....now you have a reusable produce bag!

p.s. I apologize for the scanned handwritten sketches, but unless Santa delivers Adobe, I'm trying to work with what I got! = )

Craftiness

Craftiness has been on overload the past two weeks, what with kids being sick and all...not to mention trying to write up a tutorial for Scrapbusters Month at Sewmamsew. So here is a peek at some of the latest....

For two cute cousins/nieces...and great fans of Mr. Rogers....T-shirts with the trolley appliqued on. I just went to the pbskids.org website and used a coloring page as a guide. To make it easier, I cut freezer paper to regular 8.5 x 11 size and printed on that and ironed onto the felt with a cool iron so that it was easier to make the cuts. Fun, huh?

Our little solution to tap shoes that we got second-hand without laces. Actually Katie's dance teacher said she used to see these in stores but hasn't seen them lately...of course I had leftover buttons to cover in (of course!) hot pink and silver sequins....Katie models them in the second picture. Basically you thread the elastic through the holes in the shoes and loop the elastic over the button. It actually stays in place and is easy for Katie to put on and off by herself. Yay for independance!

An old jersey sheet turned rag rug for the back door. Very squishy comfy...I crocheted it using amandajean's loop method.

Pass the tissues....

I feel like as soon as we start to get better, another one goes down! Maggie is finally better from her marathon cold/runny nose, but then Katie managed to get sick on the way home from the birthday festivities this weekend....she bounced back Sunday and was herself this morning so we sent her to school...now a low fever.

I noticed that the DOW was doing better on the news...could it be our massive purchases of Tylenol, tissues, and gatorade??? We will just wait for our Thank-you from Wall Street for being good consumers.....

Katie's singing debut of the year....

This is Katie's 2nd year in cherub choir and did a cute and fantastic job for her first performance. You will have lots of chances to see her this year....always welcome to stay overnight at our house, too!

October 18th at the 10:30 service

November 8th at the 10:30 service

November 14th 2:30 pm

November 15th at 10am

November 22nd at the 10:30 service

December 24th at 7:30 pm

December 27th at 10am

January 31st at the 10:30 service

The rest of the schedule to come if you are thinking 2010...= )

Lemon Lickety Split bag

I finished another lickety split bag--this time in a fun lemon print and navy lining. I think this is one of my favorite sewing projects....if you want to make your own, I have the link to Made by Rae's blog on the side.

Maggie's first haircut

Ok, this is the finished product...they were a little out of order....

I know the blog has not been updated a lot but I finally uploaded some pictures so I will have a few posts at once. = )

Maggie got her first haircut on September 28th to take care of the little

80s mullet she had going on. = ) Mommy was feeling like I could easily trim the bottom and pocket the 8-10 dollars from a salon, which worked out since Elmo's world happened to be on at the time.