I have completed my first "green" grocery bag. It's actually blue, but you get the point. I followed a pattern from Chica and Jo's blog pretty much verbatim. It ended up using a little over 1 yard of fabric and is 21" x 14". You can see how it folds down to a small, compact size which can easily be tossed in my purse or van.
There aren't a lot of great fabric choices in ripstop nylon, but it is supposed to be durable and very washable. I'd like to try some out of my "cool" new fabric, but I don't know how cotton would hold up in the long run. I put 2 full gallons of milk in here, and it was easily carried. Total weight was 18 lbs, but I think it could hold even more.
Some improvements I'm considering: add a little hanger so it can be easily used at the grocery store packing stations (see this example); and Doug thinks I should make one with a flat bottom to hold more stuff. I don't know how easily it would fold, then, and it would be a lot more time intensive to sew...
6 comments:
In China, you either pay for bags or use reusable "green" bags (who said China wasn't trying to be green?). I can tell you from experience that the bags with flat bottoms work really well! Your bag look awesome! I am so impressed by your sewing ability!
i just bought some at meijer for 99 cents that sound like what you are talking about with little hanger thing and flat bottom (with insert to make it more sturdy in the bottom) Might be worth looking at for idea.
Hi Lori! Your bag came out fantastic! I'm so happy our instructions worked for you, and I love the blue you used. I heartily agree with your suggestion about adding a little loop to help with hanging the bag on the hook at the store, and I've actually been hoping to revisit my pattern to add that finishing touch. Keep an eye on our site and maybe I'll add it soon! :)
http://www.beaconfabric.com/vindex.html?cat99.htm
Try this...
In Denmark we also pay for a plastic bag when we go shopping. A nice, big plasticbag, that can be used many times, costs about a 30 cents. So many danes allways brings their own tote, or an old plastic bag, when they go shopping. In my car i allways have 4-5 plastic bags, because i tend to forget them.
If you really want to be "green" you should sew it from reused fabric :-)
I started making my own pattern using cotton on one side and ripstop on the other side, they are inside out bags with a pocket inside to pull the bag into.By using cotton on one side, that way I could pick really fun material, like batik.
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