A reusable snack bag

2011 maybe the year of of my sewing addiction.

I consistently look for ideas, new projects and techniques. It has started to expand past quilts as I test my skills out on other little projects I find. I was stuck this past week on what to get/make my mom for her birthday when and idea of a reusable snack bag to take to work. Honestly the idea started with a lunch sack, but my mom usually goes home for lunch but I figured she would love to have a bag for fruit or nuts, or what ever else she takes with her to work. So I started searching google. (if you haven't heard of google i highly recommend it) and I found TONS of lunch bag type designs from the blogging world of stay-at-home moms. So i combined a few different ideas and came up with this gift for my mommy.

These are the fabrics I went with. The fruit pattern is a quilting cotton and the mustard is actually duck cloth. It is very sturdy and forms well. I figured it a smart choice because I want my bag to stand up and hold shape. :)

Next I cut out the front and the back. I only did two panels. Cutting the two layers together so they would line up perfectly. To get the rounded closure flap I traced with my disappearing fabric ink pen one of my fiesta bowls. It was just the perfect roundness.

Before I sewed the two fabrics together I put on my tag and the velcro for the closure.

 Than I sewed the two layers of each section together at 1/4 seams.

the second one!

Next thing I did was put in guide lines for the folds. I did this on the sides, and bottom. It created 2 by 2 squares in the corner bottoms that I used as my guides to flatten the bottom of my bag.

After that I sewed the two side together and made the the cuts and seems to flatten the bottom. ( I should have taken a pic of the step. It was super easy and worked great)

So here is my bag all together. The duck cloth is really working to keep it formed and in the shape I was going for.

After looking at it for a few minutes I decided to make some trimmings to give it a finished look. Luckily I had this olive green strip of a jelly roll left over from another project. I made a bias tape similar to how I i finish a quilt. First I ironed the edges to meet in the middle..

Than I ironed it in half. This way it naturally fits over the the raw edges. After it was ironed, and cooled (always so hot on the fingers as I make those strips) I sewed on the trim to give it a finished look. This ended up being the trickiest part of the whole bag. But it worked!

and here it is!

Looks pretty good I think. I just love the fabric and the trim does give it a more finished look Also loving that poodle tag! Now I am off to the store to fill it with goodies before I give it to her!