Reusable Snack Bags! {post by Leslie}

Hey friends!  It's Leslie, back with another super easy tutorial PERFECT for the summer! (and fall... possibly winter and spring, too)  Reusable sandwich/snack bags are the perfect solution to so many wasted plastic baggies.  My kids  use the plastic ones once and throw them away.  What a waste!  These little babies are washable so you can use them again and again!  And they're so CHEAP to make!  You can whip up a whole bunch of them, ready to be loved all summer and even when school starts.  Let me show ya just how easy these are...

you will need:

fabric - an inside and an outside (can be the same - i used what i had on hand. use your scraps!)

velcro (i used 3/4" that i got at JoAnns for $1)

cutting mat & rotary cutter (or scissors)

sewing machine

gather your supplies and get ready to ROCK n ROLL!!

cut your fabrics to 14 inches by 7 inches - take note if your fabric has a one way pattern.  mine does, but it doesn't bother me that on one side of the finished bag it's right way up but upside down on the opposite side.
cut your velcro to 6 1/2 inches long

pin the fabrics right sides together .  i like to double pin where i need to leave an opening.  all too often i sew around the whole thing and have to go back with the seam ripper.  :-/

sew at 1/4" inseam leaving a 2 inch opening, back stitching at beginning and end.
clip corners, turn and press.

pin one piece of velcro on each of the short ends. i placed mine just about 1/8 inch down from the edge so you have something to grab hold of when opening the pouch.

once pinned, sew along the long ends, close to the edge of the velcro.

fold the entire piece in half, matching up the velcro

with the velcro at the top and the fold at the bottom, sew down each side at 1/8 inch inseam

TA DA!!  Finito my friends! ready to be filled with whatever snacks you desire!

maybe a sandwich (school lunches never looked so cute!)

or little crackers!
(velcro might be a little noisy for church, but how simple to throw in your diaper bag, purse, backpack etc!)

not sure how i get these sideways, but like the last time, if you'll just tilt your head ever so slightly to the right, you'll get the idea...
make a bunch!

Mookie loves his new snack pouch!  and he had no troubles getting it open.  :)
(he's almost 2)

ENJOY while making the Earth just a little bit GREENER.  :)

And there you have it!  Pretty simple huh?  And it would be SO easy to embellish for your own little one with their initial or an animal shape.  You could piece together a bunch of scraps to make it a patchwork pouch AND use up some of your scrap pile!

And again, the best part -- YOU CAN WASH THEM!!  Oh yeah, baby!  When they've gotten their use out of them, turn those puppies inside out (cause that's probably the dirtiest side, right?  if not, leave em as is) and toss em in the washer!  They might need a quick press with a hot iron after drying (maybe lay flat to dry?  up to you.) but then they're ready for another picnic adventure!

Also, another good idea would be to use PUL fabric to make them. (polyurethane laminated fabric) I got mine from here.  That way you could make a BIG one and use it as a wet bag for all the trips to the pool!  PUL fabric will make it pretty water resistant (though not water proof), perfect for stashing wet swimming suits or even (for the diaper bag) for wet diapers or soiled clothes from soggy bottoms.  be advised tho, PUL fabric, i've been told, is not food safe.  just throwin that out there.  :)  The options are endless!  Please leave a link to a picture if you happen to make one or fifty of these little babies!  I love seeing your take on a simple pattern.  :)

Until next time friends!!

Leslie - Mookie's Momma

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