First a big thank you to Design Sponge for this one. This project is exactly what I have been looking for. In an effort to live a more green lifestyle - it kills me to use plastic bags. It is something I don't think I could give up entirely, but any chance I get to use something reuseable or more sustainable I do!
One of my highlights of the week includes a trip to the Reading terminal and some of Philadelphia's finest outdoor farmers’ markets. These trips to the market remind us of where our food comes from and how important it is to take care of our earth and continue to cut down on waste. We get some of the freshest, finest and most reasonable fruit and veggies from the area. I love talking to the farmer's and learning about their practices...and the recipes I get are often favorites. I am borrowing these pictures from design sponge, but I promise to post my after photo's as well. I suggest checking out their post as they have pictures to go along with each step. This is so great. You will not be disappointed. Thanks again, BBB Sisters and Design Sponge.
http://www.designsponge.com/2011/06/diy-project-farmers-market-bags.html
Materials
■fabric scissors
■kitchen tea towels (Ours are from Ikea and Williams Sonoma; you can use new ones or give new life to old towels. Flour-sack towels work really well because they’re such a lightweight, breathable fabric, and they don’t weigh very much if you use these at the grocery store, as well.)
■string
■safety pin
■sewing machine
■rubber stamps (optional)
■fabric paint, ink or stamp pads (optional)
Instructions
1. Make sure the hem of your towel is such that you will be able to thread twine through it to create a drawstring. All of the towels we were using had this allowance.
2. Determine the size of the market bag you would like. For the larger market bags used for potatoes or apples, we simply folded the tea towel in half. Others we cut in half and then folded in half again to make them half the size. These we used for garlic and herbs and smaller items. If necessary, cut the towel to the proper size. For an extra-big bag, you can put two full-sized towels together without cutting at all.
3. Fold the towel in half, right sides together, making sure the hem of the towel is on the top, or opening, of the bag. Then you will be able to thread a piece of string through the top hem of the towel.
4. Pin the sides and sew them up with the wrong sides facing each other. Be sure not to sew all the way to the top on either side so that you will be able to thread the drawstring through the top seamlessly.
5. Turn the bag right-side out. There should be a space large enough to thread a string with a safety pin or a tape threader at the top of the bag. This is one of the great things about this project — the hem is already made for you, saving you the trouble of needing to sew it. Thread the twine through the entire top of the bag creating a drawstring.
6. Stamp and decorate!
