just call me crafty

For heaven knows how long I've been lugging my laundry detergents and supplies back and forth to the laundromat in an ever-increasingly slimy plastic Ziploc bag. Tired of how disgusting and sticky it was, and not particularly wanting to just start the scummy cycle over again by opting for another plastic bag, I decided to pull out the big guns and sew myself something that didn't gross me out every time I used its contents. And so a bit of creativity, determination, one cloth placemat marked down to $1.49, and an old pair of blue jeans with holes in the knees later, I have this:


It's big enough to hold my small, reusable containers of Tide and Clorox, my dwindling bar of Fels Naptha, my quarter purse, and a book.


If you're hankering to make one for yourself, please know that if I can do it, you can do it. These bags are seriously incredibly easy to make. With only the most basic of sewing skills, you could whip one out in about an hour. In fact, I was successfully able to teach my 8- to 11-year-old Activity Day girls back in Muncie how to make them, and I am far, far from what anyone would even think of calling a seamstress.

To make mine, all I did was take my standard-sized cloth placemat, fold it in half (right sides together), and sew up the two sides. I then folded the bottom corners into triangles and sewed across to help open the bottom of the bag. For the handles I cut two long strips of denim from the less-worn back side of one leg of the blue jeans. I folded each strip in half, right sides together, and sewed them to create two tubes. I then turned them right side out, ironed them flat, and hemmed up the ends. (You can also just use ribbon for the handles, but since I didn't have ribbon, but did have an old pair of blue jeans, I opted for the cheaper, yet slightly more involved route.) And last I attached the strips to the placemat to make handles. Turn the whole thing right side out and voila! A bag!

Go make one (or two) for yourself. They're inexpensive and easy as pie, and they make great scripture/church bags, laundry totes, knitting bags -- whathaveyou!