DIY Projects for the Eco-Consciense Consumer

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Issue 46

The Food Issue

Make a meal to die for
Make wine crate cabinets
Learn to screen print

Carry On

Goodbye, sad sack. This bright tote makes shopping fun again.

by Kendra Stanley

Photos by Dustin Aksland

Sparked by San Francisco’s ban on plastic bags, I went on a quest for a good-looking and environmentally viable alternative to the ubiquitous plastic bag. After hitting a dead end on finding new sustainable fabrics to stitch up myself, I came up with the idea of reusing rain jackets, which can be found for a song at any thrift store.

Enlarge the pattern shown at left by about 500 percent onto Kraft paper.
Trace piece A twice onto your fabric (for the front and back of the bag).
Do the same with piece B on different-colored fabric.
Cut out all four pieces.
Place one of the B pieces on top of an A piece, so that the edges of the handles and top part of the tote line up, and sew together. Repeat with the remaining two pieces.
On the inside (or wrong side) of each piece, turn in the bag’s top edge and handles ¼” and sew just inside the fold to create a finished edge.
Place the front and back pieces right sides together, and sew along the sides and bottom.
For a square bottom, fold the bottom corners of the bag inward 1“–2” (to form a triangle) and sew along the bottom seam again.
Turn the bag right side out and sew the ends of the front bag handles together. Do the same for the back handles.
Reinforce the bag by stitching along the outside of the sides and bottom (this is a great time to play around with different stitches or fun thread colors).
Slide your new tote over your shoulder and make a beeline for the nearest farmers’ market.