Totes

You can take a large *paper* bag, take it apart at the seams, and use is for a pattern. Just add webbing tape around the bottom extending into handles.

Beverly

Uhhh, duhhhhhhhhh!

Bauer's Law: Whatever you can't find is right under your nose.

Who formulated Bauer's law?

I did. Anita Karen Bauer Strohl AK in PA

Thanks Beverly!

You Can also go to wild things from Wild ginger, free download and put in the dimensions you want and get a pattern for a tote bag to suit you. I made several that way for library books and also made some to suit me for beach towels. Just decided the height and width you want the soft ware does the rest.

You're welcome! The only reason I thought of it right away is because the same discussion came up in the SewBiz list recently. ;-)

Beverly

I made mine from canvas remnants, and used the size of the fabric to determine the size of the resulting tote bag.

I cut off the selvedges with an additional couple of inches, and used those to make the straps. I didn't put a seam in the bottom, but just folded the fabric in half and sewed the sides. I securely attached the handles, using an "X" and a square - very secure. Then I folded in triangles at the bottom to make the width, and sewed across them, then tacked them down. My bags are about twelve years old now and still going strong.

I cut apart a plastic grocery bag, cut the handles off the top to be sewn on separately, made the handles a tad wider and left them so they could be opened all the way up to distrubte the weight, and added a

Joan Hawley (Lazy Girl Designs) has instructions with lots of photos on her website for how to make a 1 yard, 1 hour tote.

I made mine 16 by 16 to accomodate the weakness in my arms from tendonitis and tenosynovitis.

To do the folded bottom, you turn the bag inside out. Where the seams meet at the bottom, you go about 1 1/2 - 2 inches up and then fold the fabric, making a little triangle. Mark the bottom of the triangle line and sew across it. Tack the triangle to the bottom of the bag along the seam, if there is one. If not, then tack it to the side seam. You can take some of the plastic canvas stuff, cut it to fit the bottom, and then cover it with fabric if you want the bottoms to be a bit more square and sturdy.

I hope this makes sense.

Trisha in MO

Making a tote to match the plastic shopping bags is a very good idea, since they will sit where the cashier sits the plastic ones to fill them. I just bought a few 1.00 reusable totes from Giant Eagle Supermarkets (PA) and they even have a little loop at the center of one upper edge to loop over the hook the plastic bags hang off of to keep them open. IF I make any more (who can beat a dollar?) then I'm going to be sure to add those.

Also if making a paper bag sized tote, realize that when we carry a paper bag at arms length we usually take up part of the length with a handful of bag. I tried to carry a bag that was paper bag sized with handles. Didn't work. I had to hike up my shoulder or bend my elbow to keep it from dragging on the ground.

FWIW, Kitty

You can also, when you are sewing the side seams, fold the bottom up after any bottom seam is sewn, and pin it to make a pleat at the bottom. That way the bag will fold flat much more nicely. This doesn't work as well with heavier fabric, though.

The paper bags at my grocery have handles on them. The problem is that they sometimes come off, being held with some kind of glue. They can also tear. My canvas bags never tear, the handles are firmly attached, and the bottoms don't even have a seam, and nothing ever falls out the bottom. I make the handles long because my DH, who carries them in, puts two or three bags in either hand. Back when I carried them in, I could slide the handles up to my shoulder and carry up to three bags with each arm.

I made 12 of them last year using the same directions that Joanne gave above. However, instead of canvas I was able to find some green nylon material at Walmart for $1/yd, and bought the nylon strapping at TSWLTH for .99 per yard. My finished bags are about 20" long x 16" wide - perfect for groceries, and very inexpensive to make. Now every time we go shopping we just carry in our own "green" bags - no more of those flimsy plastic bags that spill over in the car.

Liz

This is a case of "whatever works is right." If the bags do the job for you, they're "correct." No pattern is needed, anyone can make them, and have a very useful end product. You can tweak them so that they function the way you want/need them to, and they're still right.

The baggers at my store love mine. They never tear and nothing ever pops out the bottom, even if there is wet produce in the bag. Everyone recognizes them, too. I dropped one one time, without noticing, and the next time I was shopping, a checker came to me and told me they had one of my bags! LOL!

If you have an embroidery machine, or do free motion work, you can decorate them as you like. I did some stenciling on two of mine, because I wanted the decoration, and wanted to practice on something that wasn't so permanent.

I love that idea. I use a denim shirt to make practice sew-outs of new embroidery designs, so I can see, and edit any problems. The shirt hardly has any free space left. Of course I don't wear it out of the house. ;-} Bu a personalized grocery tote, what a good idea.

Beverly

Ahhh, so, grasshopper. My work here is done.

It's interesting to see how many conversations the bags start, and you do get to be known by your bags. I no longer worry about becoming a bag lady. I already are one.

I used a combination. I finally figured out another persons method. I plotted them both out on graph paper then compared them to the fabric I have on hand. With the intent of conserving the most or wasting the least amount of fabric, sometimes Beverlys' worked best sometimes the other womans'. I located a place online where I found webbing for .15 a foot. So I'll be making 22 bags for about $30. Hubby was laughing at my wanting to do this. Then I gave him the price of just one bag it was $30. He's not laughing now.

AK in PA

AK&DStrohl wrote: Hubby was laughing at my wanting to do this.

Haha! Isn't it fun to pull the rug out from under them like that?

if you are by chance a member of patternreview.com, you can read a great review my friend wrote (including her suggestion for an alternate way to close up the bag bottoms) for a Simplicity tote pattern. it looks like this thread has already leaned towards a no- (official)-pattern, route, however, this is a really great review (great in terms of technical detail and advice, versus great in terms of positive evaluation of the pattern - but it's that too). here you go:

I simply cannot wrap my brain around this. I'm sure it's easier than I'm making it. I can't make heads or tails out of what you're saying.

Trisha in MO