• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Freebies
  • Gallery
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

The Yellow Birdhouse

Helping you live your best crafty life

  • Crafts & DIYs
    • Felt Crafts
    • Sewing & Embroidery
    • Crochet
    • Everything Else
    • My Favourite Felt Tools
  • Mom Life
    • Fun Stuff for Kids
    • Parenting
    • Decor
    • Printables
    • Homemaking
    • Life
  • Holidays
    • Birthdays
    • Christmas
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Easter
    • Springtime/Mother’s Day
    • Halloween
    • Baby Showers
  • Creative Business
    • Etsy Tips
    • Pinterest Tips
    • Best Biz Tools
    • Work/Life Balance
  • Shop
    • Etsy Shop
    • Sewing Patterns
    • Flower Patterns
    • Ebooks

Zero Waste DIY Produce Bags

January 4, 2019 by Laura 18 Comments

Last Updated on January 31, 2022

These DIY produce bags worked up a lot faster than I expected! They take about 15 minutes to whip up, so they are a fantastic last minute gift idea!

I’m continuing to make small changes in our lifestyle in order to reduce our waste output. The amount of garbage one little family can make is fairly alarming! So these reusable produce bags are a step in the right direction. The zero waste movement tugs on my heart strings and I’m always looking for ways to improve. And if I can turn those improvements into a DIY project, so much the better!

How to make diy zero waste produce bags! This is a quick DIY for reusable produce bags. A great zero waste project to help you on your eco journey. There's no more need to use those flimsy plastic produce bags that clutter up the landfill anymore! These DIY produce bags are extremely lightweight and slightly transparent making them perfect for transporting your fruits and veggies.

This post contains affiliate links. Read more.

I found the cute bee printed ribbon at my local sewing store, it was a great find! I thought it was really appropriate too, you know ‘save the bees, don’t fill their wildflower fields with plastic’. That’s how the saying goes, right?! Haha

I found the ribbon on Etsy for you. But you could also find an appropriate ribbon at your local craft store instead if you wanted.

Here’s what you need for this project:

Bee Ribbon, Cotton, 3/4 yard per produce bag, at least 3/4″ wide
Satin Ribbon, 1 yard per bag, 1/4″-3/8″ wide
White Cotton Voile Fabric, 1 yard will make 4 bags

use white cotton voile to make diy zero waste produce bags

I found some cotton voile at my local fabric store, it was about $12/meter, which is pretty inexpensive for 4 produce bags!

I used voile because it is super lightweight and you can mostly see through it. So it won’t add much weight to your produce and the cashier will still be able to read the stickers through the bag. ๐Ÿ™‚

These DIY produce bags are seriously one of the quickest projects I’ve done. It’s really nice to start and finish a sewing project in one sitting! I actually gave these as Christmas gifts last year.

If you’re looking for more ways to reduce plastic waste, check out this post of 31 Easy Ways to Live More Sustainably.

 

Zero Waste DIY Produce Bags

Measure and cut a 28″ x 16.5″ piece of voile. Fold it in half so it is 14″ wide and round off the open bottom corner. I just eye-balled this, it doesn’t have to be perfect. These zero waste produce bags are for functionality, not to win a beauty contest.

Sew a 1/4″ seam down the side and bottom of the bag.

making DIY produce bags

Flip the bag inside out and press the seam flat.

Now you’re going to create a french seam by sewing 3/8″-1/2″ around, trapping the raw edge inside the seam.

zero waste DIY produce bags with french seams

With a french seam, your raw edges won’t unravel in the wash and you didn’t even need to drag out your serger! This seam will now remain on the outside of the bag.

Next, press down the top edge about 1/2″. (Again with the eye-balling. I never measure anything, lol)

press down the top edge of your DIY produce bags

Fold the end of your bee ribbon back on itself about 1/2″ and stitch it as close to the top edge of the bag as possible. When you get close to the end/beginning, cut your ribbon leaving an extra 1/2″, fold it under and stitch it down. So the ribbon ends will butt up against each other.

Then stitch down the bottom of the ribbon all the way around the bag too.

(Ignore the vertical stitch lines in the pic below, it was an unnecessary step.)

The bee ribbon now contains the raw edge of the voile.

Use a small safety pin to feed through a length of satin ribbon. Tie the ends together in a knot and now you can use it as a drawstring for your super simple DIY produce bags!

Use a cute cotton ribbon on these easy DIY zero waste produce bags

15 minutes, start to finish and totally gift-able. And cute too!

Looking for more zero waste projects? Check out this DIY Toothbrush Travel Wrap, so you don’t need to use plastic to transport your toiletries. And this Quilted Coffee Mug Cozy, so you don’t need to accept paper sleeves when you go for your daily coffee fix! Or this t-shirt upcycle into a cozy reversible cowl! AND this adorable DIY fabric bunting that is reusable for all your parties!

 

Tutorial for zero waste DIY produce bags. Simple 15 minute sewing project to help you reduce plastic waste!

Zero waste produce bags. DIY produce bag tutorial. A quick zero waste sewing project!

DIY produce bags tutorial. How to make zero waste produce bags.

What are some ways you’ve tried to reduce the amount of plastic that enters your home? Tell me in the comments, I need some new ideas!

Filed Under: Crafts & DIYs, Homemaking, Life, Sewing & Embroidery Tagged With: crafts & diys, DIY produce bags, DIY Reusable produce bags, DIY Zero waste produce bags, homemaking, how to make reusable produce bags

Previous Post: « DIY Patchwork Baby Blanket – 2 Hour Sewing Project
Next Post: Printable DIY Valentines for Kids »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kellie says

    February 11, 2020 at 3:44 pm

    I love these!! I only got two bags that size from a yard though. I must have done something wrong. I’m using the rest to make some smaller bags for garlic, radishes, etc. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Jaja says

    September 7, 2019 at 9:56 am

    Thank you for this ๐Ÿ™‚ I could not figure out how to do this without overlock.

    Reply
  3. Angela says

    September 5, 2019 at 2:49 pm

    Do you have to round the bag or can it be done square edges?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 6, 2019 at 11:52 am

      You can leave the square edges but it will make it harder to do french seams.

      Reply
  4. Joanne says

    August 9, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    These are great! I was wondering what fabric to use so the bags wouldn’t be too heavy. Great idea!

    Reply
  5. Rose says

    July 19, 2019 at 11:37 am

    Do you find that the Cotton voile is durable enough to withstand shopping or would you go for something slightly heavier to increase durability?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 19, 2019 at 1:33 pm

      The problem with something heavier is that it will increase the cost of the produce since they don’t take it out of the bag to weigh it at checkout. So it’s really up to you if you’d rather use a heavier fabric! I also chose the voile so that the upc codes on the produce stickers could be read through the bags. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  6. Elana says

    March 2, 2019 at 7:23 am

    I love how cute these are with the bees at the top! And it’s great that you can see through them, so you know what produce is in what bag. Excellent tutorial!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 27, 2019 at 4:26 pm

      Thanks Elana! I was thrilled when I spotted the bee ribbon at the craft store, it’s so sweet!

      Reply
  7. Natasha says

    January 13, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    I love that bee ribbon and the entire project! I’ve been thinking of getting or making some reusable produce bags soon because reducing our plastic use/waste output is a major family goal for 2019!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 13, 2019 at 8:19 pm

      It’s a great goal! Every little bit helps when it comes to reducing our waste output. Thanks for stopping by! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Zero Waste Produce Bags Free Sewing Pattern says:
    December 5, 2020 at 4:52 pm

    […] Zero Waste Produce Bags […]

    Reply
  2. 15 Zero-Waste DIY Ideas For Your Eco-Friendly Home - Mindful of the Home says:
    September 5, 2019 at 6:46 pm

    […] of grabbing plastic produce bags at the grocery store, make your own and bring them with you! These reusable produce bags are made out of cotton, making them more eco-friendly than plastic and compostable once it’s […]

    Reply
  3. Waste Not, Want Not and Recyling Starts at Home – woodworkhelp says:
    June 9, 2019 at 9:12 pm

    […] can actively reduce your waste by changing your habits. It can be helpful to make your very own shopping bag, which you can reuse. It will reduce the consumption of single-use bags in shops. In our county, we […]

    Reply
  4. Waste Not, Want Not and Recyling Starts at Home - says:
    June 3, 2019 at 4:05 am

    […] can actively reduce your waste by changing your habits. It can be helpful to make your very own shopping bag, which you can reuse.It will reduce the consumption of single-use bags in shops. In our county, we […]

    Reply
  5. 7 Zero Waste DIY Ideas For Your Home To Make The World A Better Place says:
    April 9, 2019 at 1:46 am

    […] Found at The Yellow Birdhouse […]

    Reply
  6. DIY Toothbrush Travel Wrap | The Yellow Birdhouse says:
    January 4, 2019 at 2:05 am

    […] Other DIYs you will love: Quilted Laptop Bag Tutorial DIY Patchwork Baby Blanket Zero Waste DIY Produce Bags […]

    Reply
  7. Quilted Fabric Coffee Cozy Tutorial - Easy & Quick DIY Gift says:
    January 4, 2019 at 2:03 am

    […] Check out this tutorial for a DIY toothbrush travel wrap for another quick afternoon project, or these Zero Waste DIY Produce Bags! […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hey There!

I’m Laura, a busy work at home mama to two amazing boys. I help moms live their best crafty life, whether that’s with fun DIY projects or running an online shop. My passion is crafting with wool felt, but you’ll find a little bit of everything on the blog since I’m an unstoppable crafter and I love to share! Read More…

Recent Posts

  • 18 Free Cross Stitch Patterns for Valentine’s Day
  • Stuck On You – Free Printable Valentine DIY
  • My Top 10 Reads of 2022

Felt Woodland Animal Patterns:

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Legal Stuff

POLICIES
PRIVACY
DISCLOSURES

Copyright © 2023 ยท The Yellow Birdhouse

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this if you continue to visit this site. If not, feel free to leave, no hard feelings!Accept Read More
https://theyellowbirdhouse.com/privacy/

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT