This is a great tutorial which shows you how to keep all of your plastic bags in one tidy handy bag. Since my family has started to hoard plastic bags because of the 5p charge, this bag provides us with a neat option to store all of our bags in one small space. The bag was made using our Rojo Fat Quarters but would look great in any of our other cottons to match your kitchen!
What you will need:
Pencil
Ruler
Pins
Sewing machine
28 cm ¾” elastic (roughly half the length of the short side of a fat quarter)
The Craft Cotton Company’s Rojo Fat Quarter set. 1 fat quarter piece (or scraps) to make the handle, 2 fat quarter pieces for the bag (or 1 fat quarter piece if you want to make a smaller version)
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First, make the handle:
Choose 2 fat quarter pieces to be the bag and another fat quarter piece (or some scrap fabric) to be the handle.
Take the fabric for the handle and draw a 42cm x 12cm rectangle on the wrong-side. Cut this out.
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Fold the long edges of the rectangle inwards by 1cm and iron.
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Fold the rectangle in half (long ways) and pin.
Sew along the long length of the rectangle where the edges meet with a 0.5cm seam allowance.
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Fold the short ends over by 1cm and then fold them over again by 2cm and pin. Sew along these edges with a 0.5cm seam allowance.
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Next, joining the fat quarters together:
Place the 2 fat quarter pieces for the bag with right-sides together.
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On one of the short sides of the fat quarters, sew a straight line with a 0.5cm seam allowance.
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Unfold the joint fat quarter pieces.
At the top part of the fat quarter pieces, fold over the seam by 1cm and then fold it over again by 3cm and iron.
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Sew along this edge with a 0.5cm seam allowance.
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Sewing in the elastic:
From the joint fat quarter pieces, fold the bottom edge over by 4cm. Fold the fabric over again by 4cm and iron.
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Take your strip of elastic and place it towards the top of the first 4cm fold and place a pin at the start of the elastic.
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Sew the start of the elastic to the edge of the fat quarter piece for 1cm. Stich over this several times to make sure it is secure.
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Turn the fabric over to the 2nd 4cm fold and pin. Sew along the fold with a 0.5cm seam allowance making sure not to catch the elastic.
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Finally, joining the bag together and attach the handle:
From the joint fat quarter pieces, pin your handle edges on opposite sides of the top on the 3cm fold.
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Sew a flag stitch or multiple stiches to secure the handle to the bag.
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Fold the length of the bag in half with right-sides together and pin along the long edge. Sew a straight line down this length with a 0.5cm seam allowance.
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Turn the bag right-side out and stuff with plastic bags!
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© by Raeven Branch for The Craft Cotton Company