Holiday Sewing

Need a quick gift for a green-minded friend? May I suggest re-usable produce bags?

They're kind of cute, right? Like lingerie for your fruits and veggies.

I took the idea from Heather Lou at Closet Case Patterns.  She has a lovely, clear tutorial on how to sew these up, and what materials work best. I don't have a serger, so I made mine on my sewing machine. French seamed, of course. I haven't road tested them extensively, but they seem pretty sturdy.

I used a polyester tulle that I got at Joanne's for something like 5 bucks a yard. I figured polyester is light, tough and washable. Probably even machine washable. But maybe not machine dry-able. I thought the checkers at the market would appreciate that the bags are see-through, so they won't need to slow their roll to figure out what's inside.

I was a bit worried my Babylock would freak, trying to sew something that's mainly air, but it didn't even stutter.

I'm a knitter, so I have a closet full of yarn stash to poke thorough for draw strings. I used two colors of cotton and one dark green linen. I'm hoping the drawstrings wash and wear as well as the bags do.

I made 18 of them in a couple of hours. After the first half dozen, I was whipping them out pretty quick. Still, they're fiddly enough to sew that I've decided not to go into the reusable produce bag business. Cutting them out was the worst part. That tulle was something like 60 inches wide and it stuck to every chip in my fingernails. It felt like trying to lay out an enormous spider web.

I'm happy with the way they turned out though. I think I'll even make a few for me, once the hurly-burly of the holidays is behind me.