The Shopping Bag Project

Now that you are on the edge of your seat wondering where are the shopping bag pictures? I will put you out of your misery, and end the (unintentional) suspense.

I had it all planned to post those pictures yesterday, but I ran out of time and had to go do something else, so I quit right where I was on writing my post. That means all you got were the neeyosh kooka pictures.

But now, today!-- here are the promised pictures of my shopping bags.



















These are not all of them, just samples of the different fabrics. Each one takes 40 inches-- 1 1/8 yards-- but then you get two bags because the fabric is folded. So each of these bags you see represents two that I've made.




















To make these, I started with a plastic bag from Menards that I cut open and used for a pattern. And then I sewed the corners to make a defined bottom, sort of like a grocery sack. I was trying to design something not only sturdy and useful for me, but also usable for the person sacking my groceries. The squared bottom on these helps them stand a little. Not a lot, obviously, since they're fabric and not paper, but still.

If you look, you can see the cereal boxes in the bag on the right. That should give you an idea how big the bags are. (The other bag is full of fabric to make more bags.)

I also included one rolled up in it's elastic holder (a plain hair elastic) so you can see how small they get.





















The smaller bag is my carry bag. It holds eight rolled-up full-size bags. I'm training myself to grab it every time I leave the house, even if I'm not planning to shop (like to church), because it never fails that when I'm out I end up stopping to get something. Besides, I love the feel of that cute little tote. It's fun to carry around.

Something else interesting: If I'm not buying much, like yesterday at Walmart when I needed a few small things like hair conditioner and such, I used one of my bags to carry my stuff around till I got to the checkout. It was much nicer than pushing around a huge cart or lugging an awkward hand basket. I don't know how long that convenience will last. I'm half waiting for some store employee to accuse me of shoplifting when I do that. But I'll enjoy it while I can!

Here's a photo of another bag:


















I made one of these for my dear friend, Ornery's Wife, and of course, the fabric made two bags, and I intended to keep one for myself. But LovelyDaughter saw it and fell in love, so this is hers.

But do you see what else is in the picture?












LovelyDaughter begged my scraps and made herself a pair of matching ballet flats. Pretty cool, I think.


(Oh-- and do you see the tablecloth and dishes on the table in the background? I must brag a little on myself and say that was set for breakfast this morning. I, of the bran flakes-and-toast persuasion, actually cooked a hot breakfast this morning because today is MB3's 18th birthday. Happy Birthday, MB3!)

There you go. I'm pretty happy with my shopping bag project. The bags have turned out pretty, and extremely practical, and very useful. The other day I went to buy groceries and noticed I only had five bags in my little tote because three of them were in use somewhere else. They're so handy!

I've got an "order" already from someone who wants a full set of eight in a carry bag, so I'm wondering if I'm on to something here. This could be fun!