Today I wanted to share one of my favorite things to do with the plastic bags that sheet sets come in. With just a few scraps of fabric you can turn those plastic bags into a really cute bag for the kids…or yourself. You can use these bags for just about anything. I like to use mine in the car. I like their storing snacks, an extra change of clothes and all of their coloring supplies in them.
Supplies Needed:
*Plastic bag that sheet sets come in
*Scraps of fabric or 1 fat quarter
Start by making a handle for the bag. I cut my strip about 4″ by 10.”
Fold the two ends in about 1/2″ and iron flat. Now iron the piece like you would if you were going to make bias tape.
Top stitch the strip. I like to top stitch mine with a few rows. You now have your handle.
Tape the handle onto the bag in the desired location with masking tape or washi tape. Make sure to tape it and not use pins!
Sew handles in place. This may be a little tricky. I like to use my teflon foot when sewing on plastic or tricky fabrics. You may want to use some wax paper between the plastic bag and your feed dogs. It will feed the plastic through much better. I ran out of wax paper so I just flipped the bag over so that my fabric was laying on the feed dogs and the plastic was on top. I had no issues sewing it this way but wouldn’t really recommend it.
If you want, keep those little pieces of cardboard that come in the pockets. You are going to pretty them up and add a little color to the bag. Just cut out some fabric the same size as the piece of cardboard.
Stitch around the edges of the cardboard. Or course you could glue the fabric on as well. I think sewing it on is much quicker though.
And there you have it, a cute new little bag…perfect for storing anything! Now you will never throw those plastic bags away again!
Any other fun uses for those plastic bags sheet sets come in? What do you do with yours?
what an absolutely darling idea! My kids LOVE their own “bags” for their “stuff” and they have alot of “stuff!” so I can see how having numerous of these would be perfect to have for different activities, the beauty of it is that you can see exactly what is in the bag, no more wondering if a particular toy or item is in their or not.
Right now, I’m kicking my self for not keeping some recent ones I got rid of.
This is such a great idea!! =)
I use those for storing my small projects in, pattern pieces, and for when I need to travel with a project. I have a couple that are king sized, and they hold my scrap pieces for a future quilt. LOVE the zippers that come on them. Makes it so easy to store things inside. Thanks for the great idea!
awesome! yeah- that’s something that gets hoarded in my closet. I started tossing them in my suitcases so I could separate some of the dirty clothes or my slippers or something along those lines. But this would make that prettier.
Great idea…I’ve always thought those bags would be useful!
Brilliant idea! What a neat idea to house activity kits for kids for trips or outings. It would also be great to take a bag of goodies to someone in the hospital or nursing home. (crossword puzzle book, pencil, magazine, tissues, etc.) I have always stored my quilting projects in the blanket bags.
I love how you beautified these bags. I have saved them in the past, but never use them, so I think I’ve gotten rid of most of them. I love all the ideas everyone has mentioned, so I’ll have to start saving them again! I think they would make cute gift bags, too.
I’ve been using them to store interfacing and batting and other bulky sewing essentials. I like how you prettied them up and the handle for hanging is brilliant!
We go to sports events, lots of people have clear backpacks to carry their stuff in and they are expensive,
I now can make my own using these bags, Thank you so much.