Sewing Green Marathon

Okay, so I told you that I was going to make some reusable sandwich bags (no vinyl or plastic of any kind). Trudy asked me to do a quick tutorial, so here goes:
1. Cut rectangles of fabric that are 7 12/"X 16"


2. Fold the short ends over twice.

3. Sew velcro to both ends. Be sure to sew along both sides of the velcro to hold it down well. I used 5/8" on some and 3/4" on others. It's what I could find. I also used the kind with no adhesive. That stuff is terrible on your machine and needle. Uh, be sure to sew the soft piece of velcro on one end and the nubby one on the other. I guess that's just common sense, but I thought I'd throw that at you anyway.

4. Fold in half with right sides together and velcro lined up. Sew a 1/4" seam on both edges.

5. Trim to about 1/8", really close to the stitches.

6. Turn it right side out and stitch down the sides again, about 1/4" from edge. This makes an inside out French Seam. I did this so that the velcro opening would have a really tight seal all the way across.

7. Turn inside out and mitre the corners. Try to make the French seams fold toward the same side of the bag. Fold the corner so that the seam goes right down the center into a point. Does this make sense? Then stitch so that the point is on the 5/8" marking on your machine.

8. Here's what the inside of the bag will look like.

9. Here's how it looks on the outside.

10. After I had made, oh, about 15 of these, I got the idea of sewing the velcro across more that one of the rectangles at a time. If you want yours all from the same fabric, you could just sew the velcro on both edges of a piece of 16" fabric before cutting it into the 7 1/2" strips.

11. Here are the 27 bags that I ended up making before stopping. I decided that each of my grands needs at least five. That way they will have a different one for each day of the week in case their mom's don't get a chance to get the laundry done before the weekend. I also decided that even though Emory and Little Man aren't in school, they needed some, too. Little Man goes to day care and Emory and her mom are on outings all the time. These don't have to have a sandwich in them. Any snack will do. Oh yeah, I do know that 5 X 5 is just 25 and that I made a couple of extras. I'll just stick those in the package with the one to my daughter who has 3 kids. I think she'll need them the most. These were so easy and quick that I may end up doing more anyway.


Guess What? I've been asked to sell things of mine at a trunk show that is going to be held in November in a town that is nearby. I will have to figure out if I have time to make enough stuff to make it worth while. Also, what would I make? I'm thinking some pillowcase dresses, from both vintage and new pillowcases. I'm also thinking that reversible jumpers with a Christmas print on one side and a solid or coordinating non-Christmas print on the other. That way they could buy these for the little girls to wear before and after Christmas. I was also thinking that maybe some of these reusable sandwich bags would be good. Perhaps some purse organizers. Hum, I have some thinking to do. I have to decide quickly, though, because I have to register soon. The arts council in this town would get a percentage of my sales, but there is no entry fee and I would get my stuff out there.
Panic is beginning to set in. We have sooooooo much going on this fall. There are still 5 Halloween costumes to make. There's a little boy's wedding suit, another lady's 3 grand daughters' dresses, Jenna's birthday coming up, a couch to cover, 5 blankets to make to give away to the Linus Project, a couple of trips, cousins visiting from out of town, etc...... I just don't know if I could get enough stuff made. I may tell them to keep me on their list for next year. I feel honored to be asked, though, and hate to turn them down. Hum.....