Here’s a project that makes colorful tote bags from those plastic/fabric bags that hold 50-pounds of bird seed or animal feed or even grass seed. Great to use for grocery or farmer’s market purchases or for creative gifts, the handcrafted projects are inexpensive to make and quick to construct.
All you need is a bird seed bag, some cotton or nylon webbing for the handles and about a yard of calico (or any other pattern you like) fabric. Make bias tape cut on the diagonal from the calico fabric the same width as the webbing. Sew the “bias tape” on top of the webbing to use for the handles.
1. Cut along one side of the bag and remove bottom stitches to create a flat piece.
2. Sew top borders of calico fabric as shown in photo
3. Sew on webbing/bias tape handles on top of the calico borders
4. Sew on bottom piece of calico over the webbing handles
5. For double-stitched side seams, fold bag along center bottom with right sides facing out. Sew side seams and turn bag wrong side out. Sew along side seams enclosing raw edges of previous seams. Turn right side out.
6. Finally, square off bottom of bag, turning corners up so “point” is aligned with side seams, to create a “square” bottom. Sew the resulting “triangle” to keep bottom squared off.
Pass On Your Passion: Stitched and Quilted Bag Patterns - Vivika's Blog - Quilting Daily
Mar 21, 2012 @ 17:42:05
Mar 22, 2012 @ 12:48:07
I get the 50-pound bird and grass seed bags free at my local hardware store. And smaller bags work just as well for a more petite project.
Mar 24, 2012 @ 16:20:05
Thanks for the notice Quilting Daily, these were devised to be truly in the spirit of recycling.
Mar 24, 2012 @ 15:29:19
I love this, I will look for one of these bags the next time I need bird food. Thank you for the great bag idea. I am teaching my daughter to sew and she loves bags.
Mar 24, 2012 @ 16:18:50
Glad you liked it. Be sure to let me know if you need any clarification or help when it comes time to start constructing. I look for yard-sale or other low-cost calico fabrics, and have even found spools of heavy webbing at yard or church sales for the handles. Mix up the fabrics on a single bag for even more fun. Just trying to keep the whole project low-cost and in the spirit of recycling. They are great for bringing those yard sale “discoveries” or farmers’ market purchases home.