Tutorial: How to Make a Simple Shopping Bag Tote with 1/2 yard of fabric
This tutorial will teach you how to make a simple grocery shopping bag with just 1/2 yard remnant. I’ve digitized the pattern I made for this tutorial so you can print it out and follow along with the step-by-step. This bag was made so that the pattern will fit pretty much exactly on a half yard of 45″ width fabric.
Since I have the tendency to get an extra 1/2 yard of fabric “just in case” when I purchase fabric for my sewing projects, I always have a bunch of extra half yards laying around, so I like finding little projects to make using the leftover fabric from my stash.
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Supplies Needed:
Pattern includes:
(all of my patterns include 1/2″ seam allowance)
Step 1
cut your bag piece
Make sure the base of the pattern sits on the fold of the fabric.
Step 2
Sew the sides and strap tops together
Step 3
Optional: finish your seams with binding
You can finish your seams however you like, but since this bag might get some heavy use, I decided to use double fold bias tape for a seam binding. This will make the bag construction sturdier overall.
Step 4
sew bias tape to bag “neckline” with right sides together
To finish the top of the bag, use single fold bias tape. Sew the bias tape open on the right side of the bag, matching the edges.
Step 5
Optional: Understitch the bias tape to the seam allowance
To understitch, you want to sew the bias tape to the seam allowance. This will make the edge cleaner when you press the bias tape to the reverse side.
Step 6
fold the tape to the back of the bag and top stitch in place
Use a matching thread to make it less visible.
Step 7
repeat steps 4-6 for bag “armholes”
Step 8
On inside: flatten inner corners to make a triangle on the end and sew 1.5″ in from the tip
This gives the bag more of a shape so it’s not completely flat, and it reinforces the corners of the bag.
Finished!
