A group of friends and I share a tradition of taking our kids' teachers lunch during teacher appreciation week. We tally up the amount of lunches we need, notify our teachers and then gather in the morning to assemble the lunches. One friend makes delicious chicken salad, another brings croissants for the sandwiches, one brings fruit, another makes wonderful pasta salad and another awesome brownies. I take care of the packaging. Last year I made these sacks. This year I made oilcloth lunch sacks.
I first made a pattern out of cardboard measuring 15 x 12. Cut a 2 1/2 inch square out of each bottom corner.
Take two pieces of oilcloth right sides together and draw around your template. Cut out. I used small clothes pins to hold the pieces together.
I used pinking shears to cut across the top (very optional- I thought it gave the edge a finished look)
Sew down each side and across the bottom. I used a stitch length of 5 and 1/4 inch seams on the entire bag. My machine handled the oilcloth beautifully, but If you have any troubles, Sew Mama Sew has a wonderful article on sewing with oilcloth.
Fold in bottom of bag bringing bottom seam and side seam together
Pin bag bottom to bag side with clips
Sew across on each side
Turn bag right side out and fold in top of bag about 1/2" and then top stitch
Measure about 2 1/2 inches from middle side seam on all four corners, finger press, clip with clothes pins
Top-stitch closely to the corner fold on each of the four sides
Finished!
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This is too cute and it doesn’t look very hard. I may try this.
Add a strip of velcro to the top to make it spillproof : )
this is ssssssssssooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute,
i guess i will make one for softball season and school!
the velcro is isnt it?????
and were did u get it????
is oilcloth waterproof? I’ve never used it before.
Mimi, yes it is waterproof——feels like vinyl, maybe stiffer.
will is soak through will it leak
and what r some cute colors for an almost 12 year old
so==here is a good websit to visit if looking for oil cloth and is in the us
http://www.mendels.com/fabrics10.shtml
if this doesnt work go to http://www.MENDELS.com and search oil cloth
[...] While browsing Etsy one day, I came across oil cloth lunch bags for the first time. They looked fairly easy to construct, fun to make, and a cute alternative to my plastic grocery lunch bags. A quick google search for a template led me to this site. [...]
What a great idea. The teacher’s must love you for this. Very cute!
~Tonya
This is a Fabulous idea and Thank You not only for showing us how to construct the bags, but a great website to purchase oilcloth! I make my children’s lunch almost every day, and every day I use those little plastic bags I think about how wasteful it is to use them! Because of your cute tutorial, I am going to make these and matching sandwich/snack bags as well to cut down on our carbon footprints! Thanks again!
[...] Oilcloth Lunch Sack Pattern [...]
[...] Oilcloth Lunch Sack Pattern [...]
[...] Oilcloth Lunch Sack Pattern [...]
[...] If all goes well with no.2, I may try to sew these reusable oilcloth [...]
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[...] skiptomylou’s lunchbag [...]
[...] reusable lunch bags are cute, economical and will save you money in the long haul. Plus, they’re easy to make! [...]
This is a great pattern. Much easier than the one published on the Martha Stewart website. To add a little contrast to the bag, I used two different colors/designs of fabric. It looks cute when they meet in the crease and rolled over the top of the contrasting piece.
[...] looks like a great simple lunch bag pattern from Skip to my Lou. I’m going to make this tonight and report back on my findings. I have a great cute piece of [...]
I have been looking for a simple lunch bag pattern. I have the cutest oilcloth that will now become lunch bags! Thanks for sharing such a detailed tutorial!!!
~gloria
I love your site. I used your pattern for a lunch bag to make this for my son:
http://lazyquilter.blogspot.com/2009/08/go-green.html
I gave you credit for the pattern. I hope it was ok to do this!
[...] Oilcloth Lunch Sack Pattern [...]
[...] Take 2 2009 September 6 by daisyeyes I made this lunch bag from Skip to My Lou a while back for my husband and have been wanting to do one for myself since I am taking my lunch [...]
[...] Muffins were called for, obviously, but what to put them in? A quick google search led me here and I was on my way to making [...]
[...] Oilcloth Lunch Sack Pattern [...]
Thanks so much for the tutorial. I just made them for my kids for the first day of school. I am still “perfecting” my sewing skills (hahhahaha) and even I was able to make them quickly. Thanks for sharing.
I have the perfect amount of oilcloth leftover from a picnic blanket to make a few lunch sacks. It’s on my list for this weekend. Thanks!
Hope to post pics of the finished products on Monday, but for now, I’ve linked to your post here: http://make-happy.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-weekend-to-craft-list.html
[...] I’m experiencing a fascination with the humble lunch sack at the moment, particularly the DIY variety – something I’ve yet to put into practice – but when I do, I’ll be following this excellently clear cut tutorial from ♥ Skip to my Lou. [...]
thanks SO much for this tutorial!! i made one and linked to your blog!
http://mfnusz.blogspot.com/2009/10/lunch-bag.html
this afternoon I’ll write a post about bags and I’ll add this idea on my post
bye bye Laura
[...] to My Lou. Cindy adds, “…The felt bag I made is the same technique I use when I make an oilcloth lunch sack for adults. It is just so simple and makes a quick but great [...]
What a nice tutorial of lunch bags. Really good I can use this, making this adorable bag is absolutely lovely. For me, hand-made stuffs are absolutely sweet when you give it to the person you really cherish. Because you exert your effort just to create such reusable gift.
Well if you’re a type of a person who’s not good in sewing you might like to check it site –> Happy Tiffin The site offers a variety of steel tiffins made from quality stainless steel food grade in which you can guarantee that its safe to use.
[...] lunch bag patterns and ideas online, and while I ultimately didn’t follow any of these 100%, this one from Skip to My Lou was my main inspiration and guideline. Instead of oilcloth, I decided to use some canvas and [...]
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