Reusable Produce Bags

As a first post, here is a very simple and useful project. I made six reusable, washable produce bags in about an hour (minus some difficulties with my sewing machine), saving goodness knows how many plastic bags.

To make these: You will need fabric, a sewing machine, thread, and some sort of drawstring. To be extra eco-savvy, reuse whatever you can. I used floursack towels and some flat diapers that were too thin to be useful for their intended purpose. You could use old bedsheets, fabric remnants...I bought the cord (braided cotton), but you can use anything washable--long shoelaces, heavy cotton yarn, etc.

The flour sack towels are nice because they involve minimal hemming of raw edges (and I hate doing that). The diapers involved no hemming at all. Hurrah!

I cut the towels in half, giving about a 16"x30" rectangle. It is in your best interest to iron the fabric (and hem). Hem the raw edge (fold over twice). The side with the hem showing will be called the inside.

Then take the cord (a couple inches longer than the fabric's width--so, maybe 36") and fold the top of the bag over it (towards the inside). Tack it in place with some pins. Stitch this part closed, being very careful to not sew over the drawstring, or it won't, well, draw. Then fold the bag in half and sew the remaining two open sides (on the inside). Make sure that you stop sewing right before you get to the drawstring.

Knot the string (or put a large bead on it, or some sort of fancy stop). If necessary, singe or paint the end to prevent fraying (I used some nail polish).