Homemade holidays: cloth Ziplocs

Sick of throwing out plastic baggies just because you needed a quick snack to throw in your purse (diaper bag, backpack, etc.)?  Well, friends, I have a simple solution for you.  And it's easy too. And cheap.  And fast.  It's taking all my strength not to make a Lindsay Lohan joke right here...

Anyhoo, once you've made one of these, you'll be able to duplicate them in about 15 minutes.  I promise!  The hardest part is figuring out the first one. 

DIY Cloth Ziplocs
-Fabric
-Sew on velcro
-Ripstop nylon

Just a note before we get started.  Any time you start or stop a new stitch, you need to backstitch to secure it.  If you don't know what backstitching is, check the manual that came with your sewing machine to find the button on yours that does this.

1) Figure out how long and wide you want your bag to be.  Then double it.  Cut your fabric and nylon so that they're the same size.
2) Fold your fabric in half so that the pretty side is facing itself.  Fold your nylon in half as well.  Press a seam with a cool iron.
3) Unfold your nylon, and put a piece of velcro cut to size on each end of the nylon.  Hold in place with one straight pin per piece of velcro.
4) With the fabric folded in half, sew the two equal edges of your fabric together.  You're essentially making a little pocket. 
 5) Sew the velcro on to the nylon.
6) With the velcro on the outside, sew the two equal edges of your nylon together.  Now you're making a nylon pocket.

7) Put the nylon pocket inside of the fabric pocket.
8) Pin the two pieces together in a few places.
9) Sew (together) around the top edges of the fabric and nylon.  This part is tricky because you're sewing in a circle, but go slowly and you'll be fine.  Leave about three inches open where you don't sew the fabric and nylon together.  Make sure you backstitch where you stop.  You want to reinforce this area.

10) Turn the fabric inside out.  Then put the nylon back in the pouch.

11) Find the open edges and fold them in together.  Pinch them together with your hands.  Then sew those closed.

You're all set.  You're now the proud owner of a superhero cloth bag.  All the kids want to be you, and all the moms want to kill you for sending the coolest lunches to school.


A quick note about these, they're not "air tight", so food will get a bit stale if stored in them too long.
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