Friday 17 May 2013

Bags for Life!

With the new 5p tax on plastic bags here, I thought it would be good to have an Eco Bag workshop in the summer, so folks could learn how to make their own bags for life.

I've been using my own handmade shopping bags for a while now, and made countless others for friends and family.

So far, I've experimented on 3 designs.  They are a combination of ones I've seen around blogland and my own additions and adjustments.  (Folks attending the one day workshop should be able to get 2 made).

Bags for Life 005

I used a mix of deco weight, cotton and nylon fabrics, to give folks a choice between strength and compactness.  They are all reversible!

Obviously the nylon one (a recycled shower curtain!) folds up nice and small, making it the smallest to fit in your handbag.  This is an unlined bag, with French seams which I based on dimensions of bags I've made before.

Bags for Life
Great for lighter-weight items
Next up, is the largest, which is reversible and folds up nicely into a front pocket.

Bags for Life

For this one I took my lead from this tutorial, but the pattern is not v.detailed, didn't provide the template, only uses 1/4" single seams and is unnecessarily complicated around the handles. So I made it up as I went along!!

Finally, this one!

Bags for Life 008


I will be recommending folks to make this one first at the workshop.  I found the template for it here, it is lined/reversible and the seam attaching the handles are flat fell seams (super strong, like the ones in the sides of your jeans!).   I will be adapting it a little to make it easy to fold up and store.

Bags for Life 010

There are many more styles of eco bags you could make, in as many different materials. I will continue to experiment with a few more before the workshop in August.  (I fancy trying one out from a pair of jeans!).

 In Stitches Bags for Life Workshop: Saturday 31st August.



14 comments:

  1. I saw these on flickr the other day and hoped you'd blog about them. I intend making a bag to fold up for the retreat. You know just in case I go on excursion whilst in London and buy fabric and stuff. I even have an idea of what fabrics I'll use :-)

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  2. What a fab idea! I love the designs and they're fantastically portable all folded up. Well done!

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  3. These look great- though at first glance I thought the stripey one was a top... (Look again Dear! It is a stylish bag!)And with your bag tax...

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  4. These look great, and I've planned to make some for a while - must resist the urge to line everything...

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  5. A jeans bag would be so cool!! I love my fabric bags and would heartily recommend folks making some for themselves - it's just so nice to produce a pretty bag when you are doing mundane shopping tasks!

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  6. Great idea for a workshop, and the bags are wonderful. Time for me to make some more too.

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  7. Great bags. I have lots of my own too, wish they would bring in a tax on plastic bags here too

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  8. These look fantastic..... I reckon it'll be a really popular workshop... I'm putting these on my 'to do' list x

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  9. I love the shower curtain bag best of all!

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  10. I love them! I always keep a bag in my handbag but forgot about a 'fold it in there' pocket until after I'd finished so I just roll it up and wrap a hair bobble round it...nothing if not lazy ;o)

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  11. The workshop will be really popular! I have never thought of using a shower curtain! Very inventive! Di x

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  12. I really need to take your advice and get motivated and make my own bags to take shopping its very uncool and lazy of me to still be taking all the yucky plastic bags every trip to the store. Thanks for the post. Karin from http://openbeauty.blogspot.com/

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  13. I must admit I am not feeling it myself - this will explain why:

    http://caughtinthemiddleman.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/a-bag-is-for-life/

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