Reusable Snack Bag Tutorial: Back to School At Ellison Lane
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Y’all, I can hardly remember a time when I didn’t have cheerios or goldfish in my purse. Seems like every time I’ve left the house in the past five years I’ve carried snacks of some sort and boy do I wish I had had this great tutorial way back when! You’re going to love it too.
Hi everyone! I am Ginny from over at Fishcreek Studio, and I am going to be guest hosting today at here at Ellison Lane. A big Thank You to Jennifer for inviting me.
I am lovin’ all these great ideas and tutorials from this series! So many useful ideas~ Today I am going do a tutorial on Reusable Snack and Sandwich bags.
These are not only for kids but for grown ups too! I work full time and many of my friends and coworkers have children that go to school (preschool/grade school/high school/college – does it ever end?) Some are in school themselves or have hubby’s that are taking classes also. Lot’s of lunches and snacks to pack! And I bet about half of our office staff bring their own lunch to work.
These bags are perfect for both!
They are super easy to make! With simply 1/4 yd or a FQ you can make several in under an hour’s time depending upon the size you choose. These took me about 10-15 minutes apiece.
They are also a perfect way to use up those scraps. It’s so much fun to pick out the different fabrics for different people or uses. Plus you just wash with your regular load of laundry -and you’re ready to go again. Think of never having to buy a million plastic bags again and how much you greener you are making this Earth, let alone the $$dollars you will save by reusing these.
So lets get to it! I will show you three different sizes of bags. You can choose the nylon lining or a coordinating cotton lining. You choose what works best for you.
Here is what you will need:
2 pieces of coordinating fabric or use Rip Stop Nylon for one choice
Thread
5/8″ of Velcro
Glue stick or pins
Rotary Cutter and Ruler (Or scissors)
Sewing Machine
Seam ripper – (no not really, just in case. We all hope we never have to use these
Optional: decorative trim – I think Ric Rac would be a fun trim on the outside!
Small size: finished size is 4 1/2 in x 4 1/2 in (Height x width)
Cut fabric 5 in wide x 10 inches in long.
Medium size: finished size is 5 3/4 in x 6 1/2 in (Height x width)
You will need to cut your fabric 7 in wide x 12 inches long
Large size: finished size is 7 1/2 in x 8 1/4in (Height x width)
You will need to cut your fabric 9 in wide x 16 inches long
I used full 1/4 inch seams on all the bags. I have seen 1/2 in seams used and if you are more comfortable with that, great. Your bag will finish at a nice even number width and length wise.
Also a word about nylon for linings. I did some research and I chose to use rip stop nylon. It is safe for food contact and water resistant. It is not plastic or vinyl or coated.You can simply wipe the bags out. Water resistant does NOT mean waterproof, but cut up apple slices or a few pickles will not soak through. Also remember these are not air tight so if you leave your sandwich or Cheerios in them overnight, they will not be as fresh as when you started.
You can purchase an array of colors at your local JoAnn’s. What does it look like? Let me show you – rip stop nylon and has a little grid across it. It is also lighter in weight and feel. If you are uncomfortable with nylon, use a coordinating cotton.
Step 1: Take your rectangle pieces and on the inside of your lining piece, place your two pieces of Velcro. This is on the right side of the lining.
I cut mine approximately 1 1/2″ shorter than the width of the fabric/nylon. So if you have a 5″ width, cut your Velcro 3 1/2 inches. This gives a little room between your seam and where the Velcro comes together to close the bag.
I used a glue stick to attach my velcro temporarily until it was sewn in place so that I did not pin through my nylon. If you are using cotton for the lining, pins are fine.
After attaching your Velcro, lay the Velcro side face down against the right side of your fabric and sew both short ends together. It should look like this.
Next take it and fold it in half so that the nylon is against the nylon and the fabric halves are against each other. Sew down the long sides leaving a 3″ opening so that you can turn your bag right side out. You should now have this.
Next turn your bag right side out. You can use any type of long stick to push your corners out and make sure they are nice and square. I use a chop stick from a favorite asian restaurant! Perfect! (and they come in pairs Bonus!
Your bag should now look like this. Next sew the small 3″ opening closed. I machine sewed it since it’s on the inside of the bag and no one will see it.
Now push your lining down into the fabric bag. Next press the bag and top seam flat being careful not to iron the nylon.
Topstitch around the top of the bag 1/8″ away from the top seam. This keeps your lining inside. You can do more than one seam if you like or sew the top and around the bottom of Velcro, it doesn’t matter as long as the lining is sewn down. Now is the time to add your decorative trim on the outside if you choose too.
Here are a couple more I made. The blue polka dot is the medium size. The teal/khaki is the large and it will hold the larger size wheat and nut bread for bigger appetites (the picture shows regular size bread).
And the little cars bag (my favorite!) is the small size. As you can see it will hold a small apple!
So easy and quick! A really fun, fast project that is so totally useful! School, play dates, car trips, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, you could even make one for an on the go hand sewing kit!
Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions please let me know and I hope you will drop by over at Fishcreekstudio. Thanks for a great series Jennifer!
Isn’t this a fabulous tutorial? I see many, many of these little bags in my future. Guess that gives me a valid reason to use a coupon to JoAnns!
Thanks for stopping by today y’all! Swing on back tomorrow for my tutorial, the last one in this series.
xo,
Jennifer
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