I specialize in simple.
If you’d like to make reusable produce bags with closures but don’t want to sew casings for drawstrings, simply embed two straps or ribbons into one side of each bag as you sew. Take your bag shopping, fill it, wrap the ties around the top and tie them together. Easy-peasy.
Most cloth produce bags don’t need a closure. The fossil fuel-based plastic ones in grocery stores don’t close and yet customers somehow seem to manage to get their potatoes home in them. But you do need a secure closure when filling bags at the bulk bins. When I recently bought bulk wheat berries in a drawstring bag, a pile of them spilled out onto the scale as the cashier weighed the bag. Oops! Ties on the other hand, will prevent leaks.
These produce bags also make cute reusable gift bags, easing pressure on your wallet and landfills—many types of gift wrap are not recyclable. Every year after opening our Christmas presents, I simply gather up the produce bags and bento-type bags and put them back in the closet. Less trash and less stress! Speaking of stress, the dire environmental implications of a second Trump term may be causing you some. Making stuff (like these bags) helps alleviate stress.
How to sew the bags
1. Cut the fabric
The fabric below measure approximately 15 inches by 21 inches. The two ties each measure about 14 inches. The size of my finished bag often depends on the size of my scraps. I make big bags and small bags, tall bags and short bags, wide bags and narrow bags. They are all created equal in the eyes of their maker, me.
The straps shown below came from a giant duvet cover that someone donated to my sewing bee. (We make produce bags out of donated fabric and give them away to shoppers at the farmers’ market to reduce plastic and start conversations about plastic pollution. Read more about that here.) Ribbons work also. And fabric scraps are a goldmine—I have a lifetime supply of strap-making supplies!
2. Finish the top edge depending on the machine you use
On a serger (aka overlock machine), I finished the top edge of the bag with a standard stitch. I sometimes make a rolled hem, which looks very nice. If you sew your bags on a standard sewing machine, hem the top edge after you finish sewing the bag.
3. Fold, embed and pin
Place the straps below the top edge on the right side of the fabric. I positioned mine 3 inches from the top edge. Right sides together, fold the fabric like a book. Pin the straps in place.
4. Sew the bag
Sew along the bottom of the bag, turn, and sew up the side edge. The ties are now embedded in the bag’s seam! A serger trims, sews and finishes the edge all in one stroke. On a standard machine, finish the edge with a zigzag stitch.
Keep these stashed in your reusable shopping bags so you’ll always have them. Happy sewing!
