We really try to be environmentally friendly at our house. We recycle, try to limit our lawn watering, walk to school or take the bus instead of drive... Anyway, I really like reusable grocery bags. What I do not like is the scare of cross contamination between raw meat and raw produce. Also the bags get dirty with use and often it is difficult to generally clean some of them. Last year, I was at an antique show and saw bolts of oil cloth for sale. I had an idea to make bags that were lined and labeled. Now after several months, I've finally finished. I love the bags, but honestly, I could have made them for a lot less $$$, sorry hubby.

What I did:

I used about 1 yard of oil cloth for each bag. Let's start with the fact that the oil cloth costs $9/yard. You can see where this is going... Good news, they are heavy and sturdy and will probably last a lifetime. The bad news, is this project was like the $25 tomato (you know the ones you try and grow at home when you don't even have a garden)

The pattern is attached.

One major battle was the thickness of the oil cloth versus my sewing machine. I have a wonderful new Viking machine. I absolutely love it. It put my 25 year old Singer machine into permanent retirement. Even with this great machine, the thick layers were a challenge. Be warned, unless you have a very powerful machine, you will have to endure this as well. I used upholstery grade thread and needles designed for leather. You may also need to purchase a foot specifically designed for leather/vinyl that fits your machine. If not, the regular foot often sticks to the fabric.

Once the bags were made, I used a Cricut machine to cut out nice labels out of sticky backed vinyl (rolls sold at Hobby Lobby, Michaels', and Jo-ann Fabrics). Okay, I didn't own a Cricut machine before this project, so add that to the cost (again, sorry hubby).

What I may have done or will do in the future:

Typically the bags in the store are $1.50 or less. Even if you use 2 per bag, you are only out $3. Using bags that are exactly the same size, invert one into the other and sew the top seams together, removing one set of the handles if wanting to do so. If you really like the Cricut clean cut lines, invest in one or borrow a friends. If not, you can easily use a Sharpie.

I would also figure out how to create an insulation pocket for the dairy, frozen, butcher, and seafood bags. I can probably still do this on the bags I've made... or just toss in a cool pack before I leave the house.