Reusable Snack Bags

I hate buying zip-top baggies!  Hate it hate it hate it, stomp, stomp, stomp!  Every time I buy them, all I can think about is how many we go through!  While I will wash my gallon and quart sized ones (when in the mood), I have absolutely NO desire to wash those tiny little snack bags that I use in my son's lunch every day!  No, sir! 

One might argue that they're pretty cheap at only $1.00-$1.50 a box of 40-50 if you go to the dollar store.  And I might argue back that if you go through a box in less than 2 weeks, it's not really much of a bargain, now, is it?  Hmmmmm?!? (she said with a snarky tone).  Seriously, we use 4 to 5 of these each day in my son's lunch!  One for fruit, one for pretzels, one for a 1/2 sandwich, one for 'dessert', one for cheese, etc... And we use even more of them when going to sports practices. 

While 75c a week doesn't sound like that much, it does add up over time.  Not to mention, it's just trash that will end up in a landfill somewhere.  Not that I'm a tree-hugger extraordinaire, but it's just wasteful and that gets my knickers in a knot!  We've become so accustomed to living in a disposable world, it's kind of sad.  So, at the risk of embarrassing my son, I decided to make him some reusable snack bags.  Here's how:

I'll give you how much I purchased of each fabric below, but be forewarned....I thought I'd need more fabric than I did.  I ended up using next to nothing!  Just grab some scraps that you have.  However, you will need to purchase something called PUL.  This is thin fabric on one side and a waterproof lining on the other.  If you look closely, you can see the line of where the waterproofing starts.

This is a polyurethane lined fabric. (P.U.L....but they actually pronounce it like the word 'pull')  Some stores sell ones that have decorative fabric on one side.  If you can find one you like, you won't even need scraps of fabric.  The store I went to only sold plain white. See disclaimer below***

Here's what I bought:
1 Yard PUL
1/4 Yard each of decorative fabrics
Sewing machine (duh!)
Coordinating thread, or plain white since it's on the inside.
This much fabric is enough to make probably 40-50 snack bags!!!

Here's what I really needed:
1/4 Yard PUL (It costs about $9-$10 a yard...yikes!)
1/4 Yard Cheap Cotton Broadcloth ($2.09 a yard on sale)
 This is about enough to make 10-12 bags depending on the width of your fabric.  

Start by cutting your fabric and PUL to the desired size.  I'm going to make only snack sized bags since that's what we use everyday.  My son never eats more than a half a sandwich anyway (although, after I was done, I wondered if half a sammy would fit in one of these without being smashed to death.  I may need to adjust.  His usual fare is a hot dog (cringe!!) that has been cut into little discs (what he likes to call 'boobies'....I know....he's demented) and heated in the microwave until crusty!  Ack.  Anyway, I cut mine 9" x 6".  You can figure out how big you want yours and adjust accordingly.  Please don't ask for measurements of other sizes.  I'm new at this, people! Make sure you cut one layer of PUL and one layer of fabric.  You will put right sides together.  I am calling the shiny, lined side of the PUL the right side.

Sew both short ends with a straight stitch.  I just used 1/4" seam allowance because it's easy.  If you have a serger, that'd work splendidly, too.

When you're done, you'll have a 'tube' so to speak.  Do NOT iron your seams.  We cannot have any heat coming into contact with our toxic lining, ha ha ha ha.  No, seriously, you'll melt it.

Turn that right side out. Finger press as flat as you can.

Pretty side up, take one side of your fabric and fold it over about an inch and a half.  The picture shows 2 inches.  That's too many, I have since discovered.  Also a note about patterns: My robots ended up being upside down on the finished bag, so I should have folded the left side in first.  Just a note if you have a pattern that runs a certain way.

Next, fold the other side toward your first fold.  

And lay down on top of your first fold, about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up.  I know, I have it almost the whole way.  Don't do that.  It's too hard to turn otherwise and gets bulky.  I quickly learned this lesson after sewing a few, but failed to take pix.  Sorry 'bout that.

Just like we did at the beginning, sew both short sides with a straight stitch, using 1/4" seam allowance.  I started at what would be the bottom of the bag so I wouldn't get puckers.  You will sew through all layers.

Sew down one side, then the other.

I didn't take pix of it, but I decided to trim off the excess fabric, about 1/8" away from the seam after the fact.  It made it less bulky.  Trim off all your little threads, too.  Like you needed a picture of that, lol!

You should have something like this.

 

Turn your pocket inside out. 

 And then turn your flap over the top.

Here's your finished snack bag!  Cute, huh?!

You can also use some coordinating fabric to make them a little fancier.

All in all, these ended up costing about .29c each to make.  That might seem like a lot when a zip top baggie is only .02 to .03 cents, but this will be used over and over with no waste.  They should pay themselves off in about 2 months, whoo hooo!  I like that.

As an added bonus, my son said everyone at school was raving about his new bags and how 'cool' they are!  I was worried he would think the robots were dorky because he is, after all, a very sophisticated newly-turned seven year old, ah-hem!  I'm thinking of making a coordinating napkin, but I think my son might find that a bit much.  Heck, I could even make a lunch bag!  Of course, next year, he'll find the robots dorky and I'd have to start all over, so forget that!  His friend's mom even suggested I make them and sell them.  Ehhhh, I dunno.  Still gotta work out what 'safe' fabric to use.  See disclaimer below.

I LOVE the cleanup of these!  They came home the first day with just a few crumbs in a couple of them, some strawberries stains in another, and some greasy hot dog marks in yet another.  I just turned them all inside-out and wiped them down with a wet paper towel, saving the greasy one for last.  Everything came off super easy!  I will probably wash these once a week and hang to dry.  I'm a little hesitant to expose the PUL to the dryer, lest it leach out some unsavory chemicals.  I would also recommend never putting hot food in these or using them in the microwave.  I have stopped using plastic stuff altogether in the mic.  Heat and plastic don't mix.  I've also moved to storing most all my foodstuffs/leftovers in glass jars, but that's another post for another day.  Moving on...

After I made these, I thought about my friend, Mary.  She gave me some really cool potato bags a while back.  I went to look at them and they are essentially made the same way!  You can see her post HERE.

I can attest that her potato bags make one fabulous potato!  She also has a link to a tutorial.

***About this PUL fabric.  I am on the fence about this.  I have searched high and low to find out if this stuff is safe for food use.  My first priority is my child's safety, of course.  I have read SOOOOO many blog posts with some people saying PUL is safe for food, others saying it is not.  I cannot find any reliable information about this yet.  A lot of opinions seem to be that it isn't food safe only because the FDA hasn't tested it yet.  Popular zip top bags are made with polyethylene and PUL is made with polyurethane.  From some of the stuff I have read over the last few days, the polyethylene seems more harmful. 

Because I've seen so many arguments taking place on websites about the safety of this PUL fabric, I fell obligated to say the following: This post is meant to teach you HOW to do something, not to discuss whether the PUL is safe.  Please do not start a comment war about this.  This is my first attempt and this is what I'm using.  If I find time to do something more green, like waxing fabric or using Lansinoh, I will.  (WAXING fabric?!  Yeah....who knew?!  Just heard about it today myself)  But for now, it is what it is.  Thousands of people seem to be using them without incident, but what do I know?  I have just seen so many people going back and forth online, arguing and it really gets old.  Good thing I probably don't have enough followers to have that happen, lol!  But please know I am doing more research and may try to do something more natural as time allows.  I will update when and if that happens.  Or when my child grows a third ear.  You could always just make these with muslin on the inside, but you'd have no water-proofing quality to it and the muslin will stain.  And dry out your sandwich.  Just sayin'.

Something I actually DO know....Please make sure to NOT use oil cloth or those plastic-lined cheapo table cloths.  They are not safe.