Toy Bag Tutorial

(remember, this is for personal use only.  contact me if you'd like to become a licensed seller)

I was inspired to create these bags for my kids who are constantly asking me for plastic bags to put toys into. I'm big on eco-friendly thinking and decided they needed something more reusable than a plastic sandwich bag. So, not only are these very cute, but very functional and environmentally friendly too! (NOTE: this kind of vinyl is not food-grade and I wouldn't recommend using these bags for food!)

Here's what you need:

2 pieces of clear vinyl - 6.5" x 7" (I used a mid-weight, not sure what gauge)
2 pieces of fabric - 6" x 7"
3" piece of hook and loop tape (aka velcro)
1/2" double fold bias tape (store bought or make your own, good tutorial here)


I found that making a template and drawing a pattern was an easy way to cut the vinyl. I tried just cutting with my cutting mat and ruler and it kept slipping around.
Next, take your fabric and fold it in half, matching the shorter sides, so you have a rectangle that is 7" wide by 3.25" tall. Press.
Open, and fold down the long sides 1/2". Press.
Open up the folded fabric and center the hook and loop tape about 1/2" from the top. Sew in place making sure you sew through only 1 layer of fabric ie. you should be able to re-fold the fabric and not see the seam lines on one side.
Open up folded fabric (bag top) and align raw edge with the 7" side of a vinyl piece. Sew across, with seam allowance just short of 1/2".
Turn so that the seam allowance and raw edge of the vinyl is sandwiched between the fabric top.
Topstitch along the top and bottom.
OK, now grab your bias tape, we're almost done.

Take one end of the bias tape and fold the edge to the inside. Press, refold, and press again to create a finished end.

Starting at the top end (fabric end) of one side of the bag (sorry, I didn't get a photo of this part), sew all the way down to the bottom.

When you get to the bottom, turn the bias tape 90 degrees as pictured.


Fold the tape over again and create a mitered corner. Sew along the bottom and repeat for the next corner.
When you get to the top of the bag, cut the tape and make a finished end as you did at the start. Just make sure you leave enough bias tape so that when you fold the end, it still comes all the way to the top.

Done! Fill with toys and enjoy.

Post Holiday Gifts

We received some extremely thoughtful and unexpected gifts for Christmas this year and I feel awful that I'm just getting around to reciprocating. Luckily, I know the recipient of this gift will be very understanding.

Here are a few things I'll be sending off...

I found this houndstooth utility fabric at Joanns. At first I wasn't sure about it, but I love the end result. I added a pocket to the outside to break up the pattern a bit. I'm addicted to making these lunch totes. They make a really great gift!

My sister in law is a new mom, so for baby Jacob I'm sending a homemade soft jingle block and toy/pacifier clip. Stay tuned for tutorials for these in the near future.

All packed up and ready to go. Hope they like it!

Oilcloth Lunch Tote Tutorial

Well, if you read this post, then you know I was hoping to get some time to do this tutorial. I'm not sure how it happened, since my husband has a stomach bug, we installed new bamboo flooring in our bedroom (meaning we did it ourselves!) and my 4 year old is sick with possibly strep throat.... Keeping all that in mind, here is my tutorial for this super cute oilcloth lunch tote.
All you'll need for this is about 1/2 yard of oilcloth and your sewing machine. I'd recommend using a size 16 needle (or one recommended for heavy weight fabric).

Some useful links:

• tips for sewing with oilcloth at Sew, Mama, Sew.
• here is a great post about the difference between laminated fabric and oilcloth along with some sewing tips.

I used some old oilcloth for this tutorial and a laminated cotton for this project. Oilcloth makes for a stiffer finished project, but is pretty tough to work with. I think what you'll find around now falls more into the category of laminated cotton.

OK, so here are your pieces.

2 front/back pieces 11.5" x 9"
1 bottom piece 7" x 9"
2 side pieces 11.5" x 7"

2 handle pieces 12" x 3" (you could also use webbing to save time)

My cut pieces.

First sew the handles. I wanted my finished handle to be about 1" wide, so I folded each side over 1" to the wrong side. The nice thing about sewing with this kind of fabric is that you don't have to finish the edges.


Sew a seam down the center to secure the overlapping pieces and then sew another seam right next to the first.

Take your front/back panels and fold the top over 1/2" towards the wrong side. Then mark 2 inches in from the edge. Align the handle at the 2" mark and with the folded edge and sew a seam along the top and bottom of the folded edge. Do this for both the front and back panels.

Take your 2 side panels and fold over 1/2" to the wrong side the same way you did for the front/back panels (do this along the shorter side which will be the top). Sew a seam along the top and bottom of the fold.

Then sew each side panel to the bottom panel with right sides together. Make sure to sew the non-finished side to the bottom.

Now, take one of your front panels and align the top edge with the finished, folded over edge of the side panel and sew a seam (1/4" seam allowance) all the way down the side, stopping about 1/4" short of the bottom panel.

Pivot the front panel so that now the bottom of the front is aligned with the bottom panel and again sew a seam with 1/4" seam allowance, stopping 1/4 short of the end.

Pivot again and sew up the other side panel in the same manner.

Here's what you should end up with.

If you haven't given up on sewing with oilcloth, repeat this for the other front panel and you've got a lunch tote!

Pack a lunch and you're ready to go.

Maybe grab a cute friend to take along too....