Plastic-Free Grocery Shopping

By now you’re aware of the importance of bringing your own reusable grocery shopping bag and skipping the plastic, but what about for your produce or bulk goods? With the theme of plastic-free July in mind, we compiled our favorite recipe for making your own produce and bulk bags to bring along with you on your next grocery shopping trip!

Before buying any fabric we suggest looking around your home for fabric that could be repurposed. From old sheets and pillowcases to t-shirts, any lightweight fabric will work! For the produce bags, we like to make one side sheer for ease when checking out, so if you have any old sheer curtains, tulle, or netting they would make great substitutes. If you are purchasing fabric, we recommend buying organic cotton or unbleached muslin.

Produce Bags

Supplies (makes 4 bags):
2 yards fabric
1 sheer curtain panel
4 yards cotton rope
Clear nail polish
Measuring tape or small ruler
Scissors
Straight pins
Safety pin
Fabric marker
Sewing machine

Directions:

1. Begin by cutting your fabric into four rectangles measuring 19.25 inches long by 15.5 inches wide. Do the same with your sheer fabric.
2. Cut your rope into four equal pieces, each 32 inches long. Apply clear nail polish to rope ends to keep from unraveling and let dry.
3. Take one sheer piece of fabric and one piece of cotton toweling and place them together, lining up the edges. With your fabric marker, mark 1 inch from the top edge of the fabric on both the left and right sides and begin pinning pieces together. The red mark indicates where you will begin and end your stitch. Pin along three edges of your fabric, leaving the top open.
4. Starting at the 1-inch mark you made, begin sewing a zig zag stitch down the sides and bottom of your bag together. Be sure to leave the top 1 inch of the sides unsewn.
5. With your bag still inside out, fold down the top 1-inch of sheer fabric and pin. Turn bag over and do the same to the opaque fabric side. This will create a casing for your drawstring. Sew casing closed but leave both ends open so you can insert your drawstring.
6. Stick a safety pin through the rope and feed through casing. Tie drawstring ends together.
7. Trim any extra fabric or thread and turn the bag right side out.

Bulk Bags

Supplies (makes 4 bags):
1 yard fabric
Old cotton t-shirt
Measuring tape or small ruler
Scissors
Straight pins
Fabric marker
Sewing machine

Directions:

1. Cut fabric into a rectangle that is 8″ x 24″.  Take fabric and fold it in half to make a shape that is now 8″ x 12″. If you’d like, run a warm iron over the fabric to smooth it out.
2. Cut 1/2″ t-shirt strips for twist ties. Use a pen to mark the 1/2″ strips and cut along the width of the shirt. Cut as many 1/2″ strips as you need for the number of bags you’re making. When you’re done cutting, take one end in each hand and then PULL. This will lengthen the tie that you’ll sew into the bag in a future step.
3. Fold the top edges over about 1/4″ and use a zig-zag stitch to finish the edges. After finishing both edges, fold the bag in half, lining the edges of the fabric up and secure with straight pins. Sew up one side of the bag that won’t include the “twist tie” to the top edge.
4. On the opposite side, place a t-shirt strip about 3″ down from the top of the bag with about 1/4″ left on what will be the inside of the bag. Sew up the last side of the bag to the top edge.
5. Flip the bag inside out. If you regularly buy the same bulk items, use your fabric pen to write the number of the bin on the outside of the bag so you are organized when checking out at the store.

Looking for more ways to skip the plastic while grocery shopping?  Check out our friend Bea Johnson’s post on zero waste grocery shopping.