ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

A simple to make bag (DIY) made from hessian / jute or heavy cotton or an old flour bag or recycle your grandmothers old quilt or curtains. The bag can be used to carry books, vegies, craft work, (baby kangaroo's!), or just about anything you can think of.

Shopping bags (plastic / paper), create an insane amount of waste for something that's often in our lives for fewer than 5 minutes (store to car, car to house). Next time you grocery shop, BYOB (bring your own DIY Eco bag).

It is estimated that between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags discarded annually worldwide. This is more than a million per minute!

Save and recycle materials to make bags of all sorts, for every occasion -- washed hessian / jute or feed bags, heavy cotton tea towels, furnishing fabric (old curtains make fab eco bags), jeans, calico, flour bags, op-shop purchases(turn several fabrics into a patchwork bag).

Recycle your DIY Eco bags over and over again. If they get dirty or wrinkled, you can wash them, and they will be like new again.

Handles can be same fabric, large buttons strung together or toggles, fabric ties, laces. Old belts or ties make great handles. Recycle old aprons for your eco bag and use the apron ties as handles.

Join handles to bags with split rings, buckles or stitching.

Carrying a carton of organic milk that might sweat a little on your lovely creation? Sew a liner out of an old windbreaker or rain jacket.

The most important ingredient is imagination, for your very own unique Eco bag, make several for gift giving or to re-sell.

To make a basic eco bag.

1. Fold material and sew sides using French seams.
2. With the right side of the fabric out, stitch sides.
3. Hem top.
4. Cut a strip 12 cm wide and the right length for you.
5. Sew a tube, turn right side out and neaten ends.
6. Stitch to bag.
7. Sew together squares of furnishing fabrics (could use samples from a manufacturer or recycle fabric from around the home - old drapes, cushion covers) and cut out two shapes.
8. Cut two similar shapes from unbleached calico or similar found fabric.
9. Make two bags and place calico bag inside furnishing fabric bag so that seams are together.
10. Stitch around the top to neaten.
11. Make handles and attach with large wooden buttons or toggles for effect.

Eco Excursion Bag

To make the bag in figure 3, cut out pattern, then bind edges with bias binding. Embroider front, if desired.

Stitch around sides and turn right inside out.

Make a handle to suit the owner.

Make a button hole on the flap and sew on a large button.

Jute / hessian or recycled heavy weight curtain / drape fabric is great for this bag.

Shopping Bags

Use an existing bag to make a pattern from, or modify one. They're really easy. Just use sturdy, strong fabric -  canvas is ideal.

For a quick and easy DIY Eco Tote shopping bag - use an old heavy weight pillow case or a cushion cover and sew on handles -  handles from old bags, ties, belts, an old thick scarf. Take a look around your home and re-use or recycle from an op-shop.

Recycle your old jeans

Leave original pockets and zips and stitiching where possible.
Figure 4 - - Bags A and B are unlined and close to the original.
Bag C is made by cutting shapes from unworn edges for flaps and inserts.
Use pocket areas for main piece.

Eco Gift Bag
You can use any material that you have,scrap material, or recycled material. Silk from old dresses, skirts, shirts etc, make lovely gift bags.

Depending on the size of bag that you need, take your material and cut it in one long strip. Fold the material over once, and that will be the size of your bag. If you want a smaller bag, then just reduce the amount of material.

With the material folded, sew a seam about 1 inch where the top of the bag will be. This seam will be where you will use yarn, ribbon, or string to put in a tie to close the bag.

Then, turning the material inside out, iron the seams (about ½ inch) on the sides. Then sew up the seams on both sides to just below where your bag will tie. 

Using a safety pin, pin your yarn, ribbon or string, and pull it through the top of the bag.

The bag is now complete.

It is a wonderful way to recycle and reuse. Plus, if you use old material rather than buying wrapping paper, you will end up saving money!

These cloth gift bags are so simple to make, yet so practical to use, with many uses!