How To Make Cloth Bags
A cloth bag can have many purposes both inside and outside the home. Whether it is small or large, a cloth bag can be used for a variety of storage needs. Use small cloth bags to store small items. Make a very large storage bag to hold large bulky items that are difficult to store. Cloth bags can even be used as gift bags that the recipient will appreciate. Whatever the purpose, a cloth bag is a versatile and simple project to make.
Things You'll Need
- Fabric (rectangle shape---the amount will determine size of bag)
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Scissors
- Iron
- Tape measure
- Length of 1/2 inch wide ribbon (length determined by size of bag)
Instructions
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1
Determine how large you want your cloth bag to be. The fabric will be folded in half to create the cloth bag, so however large your piece of fabric is, the bag will be half this size.
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2
Lay out the fabric with the wrong side facing up. Fold down 1/4-inch along one entire long edge. Iron this fold and then sew the fold by stitching closely along the entire folded edge.
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3
Fold the same long edge down 1 inch along the entire edge. Iron this fold and then sew the fold by stitching along the line sewn in step 2. This will form the casing for the bag.
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4
Fold the fabric rectangle in half with the wrong side facing out and the casing at the top. Match up the side edges and the bottom edges. Pin the edges to secure.
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5
Sew along the side edges starting the stitching just under the casing. Stitch the side edges and the bottom edges together using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.
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6
Press the seams open with the iron.
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7
Turn the bag right side out.
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8
Measure the entire length of the casing and add 8 inches to this measurement. Cut a length of ribbon to this length.
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9
Thread the ribbon through the casing by attaching a safety pin to one end of the ribbon. Insert the safety pin into one open end of the casing and pass the safety pin through the length of the casing to thread the ribbon through. Remove the safety pin when the ribbon has been threaded through.
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10
Pull the ribbon through the casing so that equal amounts of ribbon extend out of both casing openings. Tack the ribbon into the casing by stitching over the casing and ribbon at the side seam of the bag. This will prevent the ribbon from being pulled out of the casing.
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