Be environmentally friendly and reduce the use of one-time-use plastic bags. These reusable snack bags can be made of and lined with a food-safe PUL (polyurethane laminated cotton) for snacks that need a waterproof lining.
The large bag will hold a sandwich or other snacks, the smaller bag works well for smaller snacks. They can be washed by hand or in the washing machine and be placed in the dryer.
Pattern originally by Cindy Peck
Cutting:
Large bag:
- Cut 1 x piece of cotton fabric 23cm x 38cm
- Cut 1 x piece of PUL fabric 23cm x 38cm
Small bag:
- Cut 1 x piece of cotton fabric 18cm x 31cm
- Cut 1 x piece of PUL fabric 18cm x 31cm
Construction:
The following instructions are the for both sizes of bag. Seams are ¼” unless otherwise stated.
- Place the PUL and cotton RIGHT sides together (The shiny side of PUL is the right side) together and stitch around the fabric leaving a 5cm gap for turning.
- Trim the corners and turn right side out pushing corners gently.
- Press the bag flat, place the PUL side down on the ironing board and press from the cotton side. Do not let the iron touch the shiny side of the PUL, make sure it is on the bottom and not folded around.
- Lay the ironed bag down on the table, (if using PUL place it cotton side down, PUL side up) and fold 14cm for the large bag and 11cm for the small bag if you have a directional fabric fold it is so the fabric is right side up on the front where you open it (it will be upside down on the back).
- Fold the top down and stitch along each open side using a 5mm seam allowance. Start at the top of the bag about ¼” in from the end and backstitch. The multiple layers of fabric will feed better this way. Backstitch where the top layer folds over so you will have extra stitching for support when you pull on the bag to flip it open. (A Jig can be placed behind the needle and under the presser foot to allow the machine to sew more smoothly over multiple layers if needed)
- Open the bag by flipping the top up and over and it will stand to be filled. Enjoy your reusable bag.
