Simple recycled bag

Free Pattern

When my little sister came home from Brownies saying that they had to make a bag out of recycled material it was obvious she was going to use the sewing machine. Because she had never really used a sewing machine before, I said I'd help her. So while she was looking through the pile of all the families' old clothes (which is conveniently situated at the bottom of her wardrobe), I drafted an easy pattern for her to follow. The item of clothing she used in the end was an old dress of hers that was way to small for her.

27cm and 35cm are the numbers stated.

You will need:

• Old clothing/material (from which you will need 2x A and 2x a strip of contrasting fabric with the Measurements of 75cm x 9cm)
• Thread
• And a sewing machine (this is opional as it can be sewn by hand)

Method:

1. Sew the 2 A pieces of fabric together along the curved line with wrong sides facing, to create your basic bag shape.
2. Next hem along the top to get rid of the scruffy edges.
3. Now get your 2 strips of contrasting fabric and fold in the two scruffy longer edges into the middle.
4. Then fold the material in half so that the scruffy edges are hidden.
5. Once this is done sew down the side with the two inner folded edges to secure it in place. These two pieces will become your handles.
6. Finally turn your main bag inside out and attach your handles to it so that they are evenly apart and the bottom of the handle is hidden. 

    7.   Now you have your new basic bag.

This bag can be decorated in many different ways. For example my little sister used the ruffle of the dress to make a mid ruffle. This effect could also be achieved with a ribbon. If you want to do that, before you start sew the ruffle to where you want it to be on both of pieces A with the scruffy edge folded inward so that it isn't visable. The folding wouldn't be needed if you used a ribbon as the edges would be finnished off for you.

I hope this has inspired you!