Savin' - DIY Sandwich bag

August 29, 2012

Great little tutorial over at Kiwi Magazine about making a DIY Sandwich bag; just in time for school. 

Materials

  • 1/2 yard oilcloth**
  • 4 large paper clips
  • 1 hook and eye
  • 2 buttons
  • 1 thin hair elastic
  • Pinking shears
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine
  • Needle and thread

Directions

  1. Cut two 101/2″ x 101/2″ squares out of oilcloth.
  2. Place one square on top of the other, with wrong sides facing eachother (so pattern is facing outside). Slide a paper clip on each side of the square to hold pieces together as you sew.
  3. Using a 1/4″ seam, topstitch the two pieces together. Adjust the paper clips as you go to keep the oilcloth from sliding.
  4. Trim around the edges of sewn square with pinking shears.
  5. Lay the square so that one of the corners is pointing at you, like a diamond. Fold left and right corners toward the center so the tip of the points overlap by about 1″. Repeat with top and bottom corners to create an envelope. Run a fingernail over the edges to form a crease.
  6. Open the top flaps so that only the left and right corners are folded in. Hand-sew a hook about 1/8″ inside the tip of the right corner flap. Hand-sew the eye on the left flap, leaving enough space inside for a sandwich (you can gauge this by using two pieces of bread).
  7. Sew buttons on top and bottom corner flaps, about 1 1/2″ from each tip (again allowing room for a sandwich).
  8. Place hair band over top button and pinch around button with your fingers to create two loops. With needle and thread, tack the elastic so the top loop stays firmly around the top button and the bottom loop slips easily onto the other button.

Tip

For an even more sustainable sandwich wrapper, use vintage oilcloth (available at flea markets) and recycled buttons.

**Oilcloth is out: Try laminated cotton! You can get some great stuff at these places: 
Oilcloth Addict - she has some great remnants at a reasonable price so if you want to make more bags, this is a great place. 
Amy Butler
Fabric.com
 
Photo: