DIY Reusable Bags For Bread and Veg
I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but one of the things I want to do this year is cut down on the amount of plastic we use.
I don’t think anybody who heard that plastic has been found in the Mariana Trench wasn’t shocked (I know about the Mariana Trench thanks to Octonauts!). And the amount of plastic washed up on beaches is awful.
Since the law changed in England in 2015, making it illegal to give out plastic bags in shops, the amount of plastic waste on British beaches has dropped by 40 %.
Although it took a little bit of getting used to, I wouldn’t dream of going out now without a bag or a basket to put my shopping in. I’d no sooner leave the house without a bag than go out without my purse or my phone.
A lot of it is difficult to cut out. When I buy pasta, it comes in a non recyclable plastic bag and there’s no option to buy it loose.
But there are other ways to reduce plastic bag use. The most obvious is DIY reusable bags for fruit and veg, and the other is bags for bread if you buy it fresh and they put it in a plastic bag, like they do at the little bakery near my house.
DIY Reusable bags are very easy to make. I’ve used cotton muslin to make one for bread and some more for fruit and veg.
DIY Reusable Bags for Bread
You Will Need
Cotton muslin or some other lightweight, semi transparent fabric (old net curtains will do the job if you have some, or you could raid charity shops), bias binding or something else for the drawstrings (there are some ideas here on Threading My Way), usual sewing supplies.
Making the Bags
1. Cut a piece of fabric 33 cm x 76 cm.
2. Fold the fabric in half and pin the sides. 
Sew the side seams and trim.
3. Take one of the corners and squash it flat so that the side seam is next to the bottom.
4. Measure 6 cm up from the corner. Pin, then sew across the corner. 
Cut the corner off. Repeat for the other corner.
5. Fold the top of the bag over, then fold it over again. It will need to be wide enough for the drawstring cord. Pin, then sew, keeping close to the edge. Remember to leave a gap for the cord.
6. Thread the cord through the casing.
Making a Version For Fruit and Veg
To make a fruit and veg bag, cut a piece of fabric 20 cm x 60 cm. Follow the same steps as for the bread bag, but skip the boxed corners.
They’re easy and quick enough to make all the bags you need in an evening!
You might also like this tutorial showing how to make a reusable shopping bag!
I wish the stores in the US would start charging for plastic. I have made fabric grocery bags but will add produce bags this week.
I found linen to make bread bags and plan to add them to my sewing project list.
Thanks for the tutorials.
Several stores in the US have started to use paper again, Target and Trader Joe’s. Hopefully, many more will follow.
I don’t know why paper bags haven’t taken off here, although it’s been a couple of years now and most people usually have a bag with them. Hope you found the tutorials useful xx
Hello!! I love to make theses myself. I’m in the USA where can I get the fabric?
Thanks
It was muslin type stuff and I actually can’t remember where I got it from. I don’t think it matters too much, it just needs to be very light.
Thank you for sharing! Way back in the olden days, the French (famous for their bread!) used 100% linen to create their bread bags. You can use 100% linen napkins used for restaurants. You may need larger napkins (or sew a few of them together) for a “baguette-sized” bag.
That’s a good idea!
Great idea Anna, it’s so frustrating that even after a shopping trip with your own bags you seem to end up with a load of plastic still. Our local greengrocers would be fine with this kind of bag I’m sure.
It’s annoying isn’t it. I’ve yet to try them out but hoping to cut down on plastic even if it’s in a small way xx
They are great! You gave me the idea for my next project. I have lots of kitchen towels made of hemp that were given to me by family members (they know I love them) but I have way too many so making some bags for bread and veggies seems a sensible way to repurpose them.
Good idea! 🙂
I like this idea but I’m wondering how a muslin bag will keep bread fresh .
It wouldn’t, you’d have to keep it in a bread bin 🙂
I was thinking about this the other day. I wonder if the supermarkets would let us take these in to get our veggies and would we need to weigh the bags before otherwise we would be paying out for the cost of the bag every time. have you tried using them in a supermarket?
I haven’t tried it yet, probably will over the next week and I’ll let you know xx
Most of Australia is the same as England in that single use plastic bags are not given out at the checkouts. NSW, where I live, is unfortunately a bit behind the times. Your reusable bread and vegetable bags are a great idea, made from cotton muslin. I’ve seen so many advertised, that are made from synthetic fibres. I’ll have to see if I can find a local source of cotton muslin. Thanks for sharing. I’d love you to add this to the Drawstring Bags linky.
Pam @Threading My Way recently posted…50 Sewing Projects to Use Up All Those Little Scraps of Fabric
I got the fabric from ebay. I think it’s the same stuff people to use to mop up baby sick, I never understood the appeal and used flannels instead :). I’ll add it to your linky, thank you xx
Thanks for adding this great tutorial to the Drawstring Bags Pinterest board, Anna. I’d love to showcase your tutorial. Would you mind if I used one of your photos, and also added the link to the Drawstring Bags link party…
http://www.threadingmyway.com/2012/06/threading-your-way-drawstring-bags-link.html
Pam @Threading My Way recently posted…Challenging Myself ~ Making 100 Drawstring Bags
I wouldn’t mind at all, thanks Pam xx