Decorated Shopping Bags

Plastic carrier bags are bad for the environment and we have to pay for them these days, so having plenty of home-made ones available is a good plan, but making boring bags is not very inspiring  To make it more fun the blandness of a simple bag can provide a canvas for decoration and for using up bits and pieces that most sewers seem to accumulate in drawers and boxes.

So I have been making and decorating shopping totes this week using a simple method.

You need:

• two pieces of fabric measuring 16" wide by 18.5" deep
• two strips of the same fabric measuring 24.5" by 2'5"
• matching thread
• decorations of your own choosing

(Apologies for mixing Imperial and Metric in the measurements above but it's easier).

Note: it's important to add the decoration to your cut pieces before sewing up as this gives you more freedom to finish the edges by machine, or to sew things on by hand with ease, or to add messy things like paint or block prints before joining everything up.

The bags shown here are decorated with bits and pieces that were lying unused in a drawer.  More information at the end of this post.

 I used French seams for the bag thus:. join the pieces with right sides out then turn, press and sew the seam again, capturing the first seam inside. Use a scant 1/4" for the first seam and a generous 1/4" for the second seam.
Sew the bottom first then the two sides. Curve around the bottom corners where the two seams meet to avoid the bump.

French seams produce a neat and sturdy finish.

For the straps iron 1/4" turnings to the wrong side along the long edges, then fold the strap in half lengthways with turnings placed together and then stitch close to this edge.

The top of the bag is turned down an inch and a half with raw edges turned under 1/4" to form a facing.

Tuck the strap ends under these raw edges and pin in place before stitching. Loop each strap front and back so that the two ends are caught under the seam about 6" apart.

Next the straps are brought upwards into carrying position and the joins stitched again firmly to hold in place on this top facing..

Decorations: For the bag with roses I used some free machine embroidery practice pieces previously discarded in a box.

For the second bag I picked up the theme of the fabric which was all about sewing and haberdashery so enjoyed sorting out buttons, lace and ribbons to sew on by hand.

For the red bag, which was the first one and which I had to decorate after sewing it up, I found a landscape I'd made from strips of fabric which I'd started at a workshop and never finished.  I decided it would never get finished but was good enough to decorate a shopping bag.

I want to make another one and decorate it with Indian wood printing blocks. When it's done I'll put a photo on here.