How to Sew Handles for a Cloth Grocery Bag

Cloth grocery bags are a great green idea for shopping but they also have many other uses. You can use a vinyl grocery bag as a picnic bag, a beach tote or a carryall for traveling or work. No matter what the use, however, your bag will need a strong pair of handles to be functional.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vinyl cloth
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine lubricant
• Sewing machine

1. Cut two pieces of vinyl cloth that measure 19 inches by 3 ½ inches. You can make your handles longer or shorter if you wish.

2. Fold each length of the handle in ½ inch. Then fold the entire handle in half lengthwise. Vinyl doesn't fold well, so pin the entire length of the handle to hold it in place while you sew.

3. Apply Sewer's Aid All-Purpose Lubricant (see Resources below) to your sewing machine's needle and the bottom of your presser foot. This allows the needle to glide smoothly through the vinyl cloth and the grocery bag handle to slide beneath the presser foot without sticking.

4. Topstitch one long side of the grocery bag handle. Remove pins as you come to them. Sew up the opening on the end, then stitch up the other side. Sew up the opening at the other end as well. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 for the other handle.

Tips & Warnings

• Use strong, heavy straight pins for pinning vinyl.
• If you plan to sew with vinyl cloth often, consider a Teflon-coated presser foot for your sewing machine.
• Never sew over a straight pin with a sewing machine. You can break your needle and damage your machine.

Resources

• Buy Sewer's Aid at Sewing Machine.