Not-Another-Plastic-Bag Tutorial

POSTED BY Morgan Hungerford, 17 January 2008

I'm sure everyone remembers last year's craze (and backlash) over Anya Hindmarch's wildly-overhyped "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote; the for-charity, limited-edition handbag was designed to promote alternatives to traditional, non-biodegradable grocery bags. With the city of San Francisco outright banning plastic bags from grocery stores and pharmacies (and rumors of NYC and other cities following suit), the eco-conscious, wallet-conscious, and less label-crazed among us took the message to heart and revelled in our own reusable totebags (some more stylish than others). As someone who often forgets to keep an extra tote handy for unforeseen trips to the grocery store (or any store, for that matter) AND has an all-too-easy time justifying just taking the plastic bag (I use them for my lunch, or on walks with the dog - but still, they PILE UP), I thought I'd start out 2008 on an environmentally-friendly foot and make my own, sturdy, perfect-for-stashing-in-the-bottom-of-my-purse, reusable grocery bag.

All you'll need for this project are 2 regular plastic grocery bags, some light to medium-weight fabric (the heavier the fabric the sturdier your bag will be, but the lighter the weight the easier it will be to SEW so try to find a nice in-between; I chose a midweight felt), scissors, a ruler or measuring tape, a sharpie, some straight pins, a sewing machine, and about a half hour.

1. Start by laying out one of the grocery bags on your work surface so it's nice and flat and symmetrical. If your bag has any "extra" plastic that interrupts the straight line at the opening go ahead and trim it off.

2. With the bag still lying flat, carefully trim just the sealed edge from the bottom of the bag, and do the same for the very tops of the handles. 

3. Open the bag from the bottom and rotate the whole thing 90 degrees to the right (what used to be the left side of the bag should now be outstretched neatly on the tabletop with what used to be the back and front of the grocery bag on either side). Make sure the bag is flat and symmetrical, then cut a vertical line up the middle of the bag (be sure to cut both layers - you're cutting the bag COMPLETELY in half).

4. Toss one half of the bag away (or find an ALTERNATE USE for it, as so not to pollute!) and spread the other half flat on your work surface. Trim any "extra" plastic from your handles and you've got your pattern!

5. Trace the pattern onto your fabric (twice), then cut out your pieces, leaving about an inch of "extra" around your traced lines. 

6. Pin and sew the sides together with a line of stitches that extends from the very top of your fabric to the very bottom.

7. Grab your other, uncut grocery bag and turn it inside out. Using it as a guide, fold and pin the bottom of your bag accordingly. The easiest way to do this is to make a mark 3.5 inches in from the bottom corner of your sharpie-tracing, then, pinching both layers of the fabric together at that 3.5 inch-mark, fold the fabric in so that the mark meets the corner. Fold the excess flaps of fabric towards the bottom center, pin them in place and repeat for the other side. Sew the bottom completely closed. 

8. Once you have the sides and bottom sewn shut, you'll want to serge your edges. If, like me, you don't actually HAVE a serger, just reinforce your single stitches by going over them with the sewing machine two or three times, then use a zig-zag stitch over all of it to really seal the deal.

9. Turn the bag right-side out and lay it out, flat and symmetrically, on your work surface. Finish your handles by laying one over top of the other so that your sharpie lines line up on the inside, pin all the way across, then sew each handle with a single stitch across the top. 

10. Before you reinforce the handles, you'll want to clean up the unfinished edges of your bag by folding that excess 1-inch of fabric inwards at the sharpie line and and pinning. Sew it in place (with just one stitch!). 

11. Starting with one handle, make a vertical fold running through your single stitch. Now go back over that original stitch three or four times, then top it all off with three or four zig-zag stitches. Repeat for the other handle. 

The End!

I plan on rolling mine up and keeping it in my bag with my umbrella for all my just-in-case shopping - grocery or otherwise - and I can even foresee carrying my newspaper and magazines in it when I'm out for the day. What other uses can YOU come up with for your new, sustainable, not-a-plastic bag??