Basketball Jersey Produce Bags
By Future Craft Collective
By now most of us have figured out our reusable bag system for going to the grocery store. I know in the back of our van we've got myriad choices for small, medium, or large shopping outings.
What we hadn't figured out, however, was what to do for our produce selections. We ended up using the plastic bags offered because we hadn't yet thought of a better choice. It would have to be something that breathed, could be easily washed, and didn't weigh too much. It seems these same requirements are in order for any kind of sporting apparel. So we turned once again to the modern day tech fabrics — this time in the form of a basketball jersey. We created these very cool, very utilitarian produce bags to be used over and over again, thereby kissing the plastic bags goodbye.
Materials
Basketball jersey
Drawstring
Sewing machine
Thread
Needles
Scissors
Directions
Step 1: Lay your jersey out flat on the table. Any size will do, as the bags can be made any size.
Step 2: Cut off the shirt below the armholes. This fabric has many attributes, including the fact that it doesn't unravel.
Step 3: Cut right down the middle of the shirt, straight up from bottom to top. You will now have 2 rectangles of fabric, each with a fold along the side. You can cut these in half again from side to side depending on what size bags you want to make.
Step 4: With good sides together, sew along the bottom and up the unfolded side until you reach 1½" below the top of the bag.
Step 5: Fold down the top of the bag to create a tunnel for your drawstring. The top of the bag should meet up with the point where you stopped sewing up the side of the bag.
Step 6: Feed your drawstring through the drawstring channel.
Step 7: Make dozens more. If you've got a double-layered jersey, you can make twice as many with just one shirt. These bags are so easy and so practical you will definitely want to make oodles. And be ready to be complimented in the produce aisle or at your local farmer's market.
About the Authors:
Future Craft Collective is brought to you by Kathie Sever and Bernadette Noll. Kathie is an accomplished seamstress, creator of Ramonsterwear Custom Western Wear, artist, and mother of two. Bernadette is a writer, co-founder of Slow Family Living, and mother of four. They have found renewed energy in their collaboration and are continuously amazed by the ideas, inspiration, and a-ha moments that have come from this shared effort.
If they are little kid jerseys, and my Thrift has a lot of these, you can just sew the bottom of the shirt. The shoulders become handles, the neckline is the opening of the bag. Also a nice way to keep around some of the boy's outgrown cute clothes, but in a useful way.
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Can the cashiers figure out what is inside the bags easily? We also put a lot of our produce in the cart loose and this may work for the rest of it.
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Great idea, thanks for the tutorial!
I have another option for those less "sewing savvy" among us. I live in Germany and the residents here do something astonishing - they don't use bags for produce! Believe it or not, this is possible for about 85% of produce you buy.
Just put the entire fruits or veggies into your shopping cart LOOSE- i usually bring a wicker basket for this use. At checkout, they can simply be weighed without the bags! You are going to wash them anyways, so...
The only things this doesn't work for are small loose items like mixed greens or mushrooms... Really, give it a try! The cashiers might look at you funny, but didn't they when you first used your cloth bags?
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I love this! These would make great bags for the gym, too! Kathie & Bern ROCK!
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