Reusable Flower Bags – Good for the Planet and Easy to Sew
I fell in love with the idea of the Reusable Flower Bags at Trader Joe’s – and the price, only 99 cents (assuming supply chain issues aren’t making that price creep up a little.)
In their words, the bags are: Made from 100% recycled material, they boast a simple, cloth-like exterior and a sturdy, water-resistant interior—which means you won’t be leaving a wet mess in your wake for once.
“Simple exterior” is right – and maybe a ribbon or twine would give it a more rustic look but I thought with a few cuts and some pretty fabric we can transform these bags to be both functional AND beautiful. With that thought this tutorial was born!
(This is not a sponsored post – I bought all the bags and flowers but hey – Trader Joe’s – please share this so you other crafty customers can dress up your bags too! I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase through any of my links, I will receive a small commission from your sale. Thank you for your support.)
figure 1
figure 2
MATERIALS:
- one fat quarter of fabric (18″ x 22″)
- OR 24″ high x 22″ wide if you are using a directional fabric (fig 2)
- 1 1/2″ x 25″ fabric for binding and optional hang loop
- Trader Joe’s Reusable Flower Bag
- OR 18″ x 22″ plastic or oil cloth for interior of the bag
- Seam ripper
- Rotary Cutter
- Fabric Clips (because the interior is plastic / water resistant I recommend using clips instead of pins to minimize holes in the interior fabric.)
- #18 bias tape maker (optional)
A WORD OF CAUTION: Because the interior of the flower bag is water resistant you don’t want to iron directly on it or get it very warm at all because it could melt. These directions use bias tape so you don’t have to iron on or near the interior fabric. Be sure to iron the decorative outside fabric before sewing it to the bag interior.
SHORTCUTS TO SPECIFIC TOPICS:
- Introduction: Why I decided to make Flower Bags
- 59 secs – Materials explanation
- 2:41 – make the bias tape – using a bias tape maker tool or
- 5:00 – make the bias tape using just an iron
- 6:52 – Prepare the Trader Joe’s Flower Bag
- 8:04 – Cindy’s Seam Ripper Demo
- 8:45 – prepare your bag fat quarter fabric
- 10:53 – clip fabric to the top of the Flower Bag
- 11:07 – sew the bag fabrics together
- 11:47 – adding the optional hang-loop
- 12:59 – adding the final bias tape to finish the Flower Bag
- 15:46 – sewing the final bias tape
STEP 1: PREPARE YOUR BIAS TAPES
CUT a 1 1/2″ x 22″ piece of fabric for the seam binding and a 1 1/2″ x 5″ piece of fabric for the (optional) hang loop.
– IF YOU HAVE A BIAS TAPE MAKER –
PRESS the fabric(s) through a #18 bias tape maker then fold in half and PRESS again. (figure 3)
– IF YOU DON’T HAVE A BIAS TAPE MAKER –
PRESS fabric(s) in half lengthwise.
OPEN the fabric and PRESS each raw edge in to the center. (figure 4)
FOLD back in half along and PRESS
OPEN the long bias tape on one end and PRESS under 1/4″.
OPEN the 5″ hang-loop bias tape and PRESS each end under 1/4″.
PRESS closed again (figure 5) and STITCH along the edge.
figure 3
figure 4
figure 5
STEP 2: PREPARE THE FABRICS
These directions show using the Trader Joe’s Reusable Flower Bag as the base. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you or they don’t have the bags, you can cut plastic or oil cloth or other water resistant material in the size shown (figure 6) and then follow instructions from “OPEN the bag and lay flat” on.
CUT off long, sewn edge that has seam binding. (figure 7)
REMOVE hang-loop with seam ripper. (figure 8) The seam ripper shown is “Cindy’s Seam Ripper” from Riley Blake Designs – I love how it just fits on my finger and is ergonomically designed.
OPEN the bag and lay flat.
PLACE your fabric face down on your workspace.
PLACE the bag interior on top of the fabric, water resistant side up.
Using the bag interior as a template, CUT the fabric even with the longs sides and CUT 1″ beyond the 12 1/2″ sides. (figure 9)
STEP 3: ASSEMBLE THE FLOWER BAG
PRESS the 12 1/2″ sides under 1/2″ (figure 10) and then another 1/2″ so the edge will fold over the top sides of the bag interior.
CLIP in place and sew close the the edge of the folded over fabric. (figure 11)
OPTIONAL: To make the fabric more secure, sew down the fold line of the flower bag. Use a wide stitch to minimize holes. (I used 3.0 length but use your judgement.) (figure 12)
figure 10
figure 11
figure 12
SEW the optional hang loop onto the top of the flower bag on the fold. (figure 13)
FOLD in half, lining up the 18″ edges. TRIM so the fabrics all match if needed.
CLIP the bias tape along the 18″ raw edges of the flower bag. (figure 14)
SEW in place. (figure 15)
figure 13
figure 14
figure 15
That’s it – you are done!
These are quick and easy and a great way to dress up flowers for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, hostess gifts and more. They are also a wonderful way to decrease your carbon footprint if you use them when you treat yourself to flowers too.
If you like to sew and sell things online or at craft fairs these would be a unique and popular item that doesn’t take a lot of time to make.
Be Tag me if you make and post any of my projects – I love to see what people create! Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a new sewing tutorial.
🌻 Tara Reed
P.S. LEARN MORE about the Trader Joe’s Reusable Flower Bags >
