How to Sew Grocery Bag Dispensers

Sew a grocery bag dispenser for your country or vintage kitchen using an old cutter quilt for the dispenser body. A cutter quilt is an old quilt that has deteriorated or is too badly damaged from use and age to use as a bed quilt. These quilts offer an abundance of fabric for a variety of craft projects. Create this grocery bag holder for your home, craft shows, or gifts for family and friends. Many can be made in an evening, as one takes less than an hour to complete.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Old cutter quilt
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• 1/4 yard coordinating fabric for casing
• Iron
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• 1/4-inch wide elastic, 24 inches
• Large safety pin
• Rickrack, 8 inches

1. Measure and cut one piece of an old cutter quilt 20 inches square for the body of the grocery bag dispenser. Cut two strips of a coordinating fabric 4 inches wide by 20 inches long for the casing ends of the bag dispenser. Fold the strips in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together and iron.

2. Lay the quilt square right side up on your sewing table. Place a folded casing strip on top of the quilt square, matching the raw edges on one edge of the quilt square and pin. Sew the pinned edges using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Open the sewn casing and press. Pin the other casing strip to the opposite edge of the quilt square. Flip the casing and press.

3. Cut two lengths of 1/4-inch wide elastic 12 inches long. Attach a large safety pin to one end of one piece of elastic. Insert the safety pin in one open end of the casing and thread the elastic through to the other side. As the elastic is pulled through, catch the free end of the elastic before it is pulled into the casing. Pin the free end of the elastic to the opening of the casing. Continue to thread the elastic to the opposite end of the casing. Remove the safety pin and pin the end of the elastic to the casing opening. Sew across the ends of the casings and through the elastic to secure, using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Repeat with the other elastic for the opposite casing. This will give your quilt square a puckered look on each end.

4. Cut an 8-inch piece of rickrack for the hanging loop. Fold it in half. Place the folded rick rack on the seam of one casing and match the cut ends with the raw edge of the quilt square. Pin the rickrack to hold.

5. Fold the quilt square with the raw edges matching and the right sides together. The puckered edges will be on each end. Pin the raw edges together and sew a 1/4-inch seam allowance along the pinned edge to create the dispenser tube and secure the hanging loop. Turn the grocery bag dispenser right side out.

Tips & Warnings

• Chenille bedspreads, vintage tablecloths and other vintage textiles are wonderful alternatives to an old cutter quilt, if one is not available.

References

• Dioramarama.com: Grocery Bag Dispenser
• AlwaysCreatingSomething.Blogspot.com: Making a Grocery Bag Dispenser