Dec 18
2010

Plastic bag dispenser

I don’t really know how to tell this story delicately. Suffice it to say that my son has started producing diapers that could make a diaper pail wilt. Diapers that need to leave the house immediately.

I needed a way to keep plastic grocery bags handy for those particular diapers without the room looking sloppy or the bags posing a risk to my wee son. I whipped up one of those simple plastic bag holders. It’s really, really easy, but I thought I’d show you all anyway.

I used fabrics that I already had on hand from when I made his nursery accessories. You can find a post all about that here.

Supplies

(Click fabrics for direct links for purchase at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.)

Rex stellar blue - REXSTL	Retro stellar blue - REOSTL	Ribbon	Elastic
As you can see below, you’ll need one piece 14″x16″ and two pieces of another fabric 4″x14″. You’ll need a scrap of ribbon long enough to make a loop to hang the bag from and two pieces of elastic for the openings. I just used scraps of elastic I had on hand.

The pattern


Cut one 14″x16″ piece in one fabric and two 4″x14″ pieces of another fabric.

The process

	Place the small pieces on either side of the big piece, right sides together. Stitch and use pinking shears to trim the seam allowances.
	Press seams open.
	Fold the fabric, right sides together, and stitch along the long side, forming a tube. Trim seam allowance with pinking shears.
	Trim top and bottom edge of tube with pinking shears to prevent fraying. Depending on the width of your elastic, fold edge up to form a casing and sew almost all the way around, leaving a hole through which you’ll thread your elastic.
	Once you’ve threaded your elastic through (attach it to a safety pin and inch your way around), pull the two ends out and stitch together, forming a circle.
	Close your casing by stitching the rest of the way around. On the top, attach your ribbon at this time.
	Stuff with several of the 10 million plastic grocery bags you have accumulated because you always forget your reusable shopping bag. Now that I’ve made you feel guilty, go make a reusable bag. P.S. My son wanted to show you his bat stuffed animal.