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DIY Reusable Lunch Bags

By A Cultivated Nest Team

DIY Oilcloth Lunch Bags That You Can Reuse.

Can you believe it’s almost time for back to school? It seems like schools just got out for summer here! But the stores are already getting ready for the next school year, and you should too! But that doesn’t mean you need to plan to spend a lot of money on back to school shopping. Instead, this year reduce your back to school budget a little by making these eco-friendly and frugal DIY Reusable Lunch Bags!

DIY Reusable Lunch Bags- Paper lunch bags aren't great for the environment or your budget. That's why you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and so easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIY #ecoFriendly #frugalLiving #sewing #ACultivatedNest

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and/or Etsy, which means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in this post. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

Did you know that there are around 180 days in the average US school year? So if you’re sending your kids to school with paper lunch bags, that’s 180 bags each of them is throwing away in a year. That’s a lot of paper waste! And if you or your spouse use paper lunch bags for work lunches, that’s even more bags being thrown away! Plus, you have to keep re-buying paper bags. So save yourself some money, and save the landfill some garbage, and instead do this easy sewing project and create your own DIY reusable lunch bags!

DIY Reusable Lunch Bags

Materials

DIY Oilcloth Lunch Bags- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

1/2 yard of your main oilcloth fabric (I used this one from Amazon. If you don’t have oilcloth, you can use cotton fabric and a waterproof lining.)
1/2 yard of your complimentary oilcloth fabric (I used this one from Amazon)
Scissors (I prefer pinking shears)
All-purpose thread
Wonder sewing clips
1 package of Velcro circles, squares or ovals. You can use the sticky back or sew on.  (I used these from Amazon)
Sewing machine (I use this one from Amazon)

Directions

DIY Reusable Lunch Bags Made with Oilcloth- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

1. Measure, mark, and cut 2 pieces of your main fabric 20 inches long by 8 inches wide. These pieces will be your front and back pieces.

How to Sew a Lunch Bag- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

2. Measure, mark and cut 3 pieces of your complimentary fabric. Two pieces 20 inches long by 5 inches wide (these will be your side pieces), and one piece 5 inches by 8 inches (this will be your bottom.

DIY Eco-friendly Lunch Bags Made with Oilcloth- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

3. With right sides facing each other, clip or pin the base to the sides (so the 5” of each will match up) and sew with a 1/2” seam allowance. At each corner where the sides are joined to the base, cut a 1/2” square. If you want, but not imperative, you can open the seams and tack them down at each end or sew a wider zig zag stitch all the way along the seams.

How to Make Lunch Bags- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

4. With right sides facing each other, clip or pin the wide (8”) width of the base to the front and back pieces of the bag and sew with a 1/2” seam allowance. Again, if you want, but not imperative, you can open the seams and tack them down at each end or sew a wider zig zag stitch all the way along the seams.

How to Sew Lunch Bags- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

5. With a 1/2” seam allowance, join the front and back pieces to the sides. You can do the same with the seams as in the two steps above.

DIY Reusable Lunch Bags: Sewing Project- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

DIY Reusable Lunch Bags: Sewing Tutorial- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

6. Turn down the top of the bag 1/4-1/2” and clip. Sew around the opening of the bag. (Because oilcloth doesn’t fray much, you can skip this step if you like. If you are using cotton fabric and a lining, you will need to complete these steps).

How to Make Custom Lunch Bags- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

7. Turn the back right side out. Top stitch about 1/4” along all the seams. This helps the bag stand up on its own.

DIY Alternative to Paper Lunch Bags- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

8. To attach the Velcro, fold the bag down twice and mark the middle of the front, main piece of the lunch bag. Directly above this spot, mark where the bag is folded. Attach 1-3 pieces of Velcro. I suggest adding at least 2, about 1” in from the side, on each side so it is more secure.

These DIY reusable lunch bags with oilcloth are easy to make and easy to wipe clean. Plus, you can have a lot of fun choosing different oilcloth designs to customize them! And they’re good for both the environment and your budget. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Have you ever made a DIY lunch bag/lunch box before?

DIY Reusable Lunch Bags- If you want to do something good for the environment and your budget, you should make your own DIY reusable lunch bags with my easy tutorial! They're eco-friendly, frugal, and easy to customize! | reduce paper waste, alternatives to paper lunch bags, how to sew a lunch bag, #DIYProject #ecoFriendly #tutorial #sewingProject #ACultivatedNest

You might also be interested in: 10 DIY School Supply Projects You Need To Make

10 Fun DIY School Supply Projects

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Filed Under: DIY Projects, DIY Projects, Frugal Living Tagged With: DIY, diy project, DIY projects, Easy Sewing Projects, frugal, Frugal Living, frugal living tips, sewing

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Comments

  1. Michelle says

    July 19, 2019 at 9:23 pm

    This is such a cute idea! It would also make a great gift idea, too. I love the pattern you used.

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A Cultivated Nest makes no claims of “expert status” and the owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the use of the information found on this website. Posts may contain affiliate links. A Cultivated Nest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. A Cultivated Nest is also a participant in the Etsy affiliate program via Awin. This means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in my posts. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

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