Reusable grocery bags

I drafted the bag piece based on the instructions found at earth girl fabrics, but I lined the bag completely to make it sturdier rather than just facing it. It's fully reversible and these two are identical - so one shows "side A" and one shows "side B". It took me two hours to draft the pattern, iron the fabric, cut the bag, and sew it together - a lighting fast project for me. They are getting a ton of use and I have already made another one. I hope to finally stem the tide of plastic sacks I am acquiring.

 

I first sewed the side A pieces together at the sides and bottom, and then likewise sewed the side B pieces together at the sides and bottom. Then I placed the two sides right sides together and sewed around the curves, leaving about a two inch gap at the top of three of the four handles and about a 6 inch gap at the top of the fourth handle. Then I pulled the bag right-side-out, pulling three of the handles through the fourth 6-in-gap handle. Then I sewed the top of each side A handle to the top of its corresponding side A handle (bag still right-side out but twisting the tops to be right sides together while I was sewing), and I did the same to the tops of the side B handles. During this step I made sure I joined the handle tops spanning the seam - so joining handles on different sides of the bag, NOT joining the handle tops on one side of the bag to one another, and the same on the other side of the bag together. Finally, I tucked the raw, exposed handle edges inward and top-stitched around the top edges to close the gaps and tidy things up.

Done