Lunch Sack Tutorial

With my oldest starting First Grade, he said, “I’ll eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner there.  Boy mom, I’ll be gone all day.  I’ll sure miss you guys!”

Thank goodness that isn’t the case, but with him bringing lunch most days, I did want to make him a lunch sack so we don’t have to buy them all year.

This bag really holds it shape, which I am happy about!

You could even add some handles or a strap for them to carry it around easier.  I was afraid that my son would think it looked like a purse, so I held off on them ;).

In case you missed me on Me Making Do, here is my lunch sack tutorial. Just in time for school to start here in a couple weeks! 

*Edited to add:  to the reader who asked how it holds up in the wash, I finally washed it, and although not quite as crisp as when first made, once I ironed it and creased it where it should be creased, it still holds it shape–ironing is the key after being washed, as is the case with most homemade items:).

You will need:

-Flap pattern found here.  You will have one of your outer fabric pieces with the flap, and one of your inner fabric pieces with a flap, like this:

–PUL or vinyl fabric (only if you want the inside wipe-able, otherwise use whatever you’d like to for the lining).  Cut two pieces: one 10” x 11.5”, and another 10” x 11.5” with the downloaded flap taped onto the center of one of the 10” sides (see picture above for reference) **don’t use PUL if you feel is should not be against food.  There is some controversy on this issue, so use wisely if you use it

-outer fabric (I used home decor fabric so it was thick fabric–you can definitely use some type of laminated fabric or PUL, or vinyl, etc. but it’s pricey so that’s why I didn’t).  Cut two pieces: one 10” x 11.5”, and another 10” x 11.5” with the downloaded flap taped onto the center of one of the 10” sides (see picture above for reference)

-heavy duty stabilizer, found at any craft stores (it isn’t fusible, but you could certainly get the fusible kind.  This stabilizer is some nice, thick stuff, and it isn’t very expensive):  cut two pieces 10” x 11.5”—there are no flaps on the stabilizer.  **If you would like the flap to be thicker like the rest of the bag, cut one 10″ x 11.5″ with the downloaded flap taped onto the center of one of the 10″ sides.**

-2” piece velcro

-bias tape (optional, but it does give it a more finished look).

-5″ webbing, if you want to add a handle (this tutorial here does not show how to add the handle.  You can check out my newest lunch sack tutorial for the info on how to add a handle here)

Sew the stabilizer pieces onto the wrong side of the outer fabric, with a basting stitch.

Mark 2.25” in from both sides, and the bottom.

Sew along the lines you just marked.  Backstitch where the lines cross each other.
 

Now would be a good time to sew the velcro onto the middle front of the outer fabric without the flap.  Sew it down about 3” from the top, or wherever you think it should go.  My next few pictures don’t have the velcro sewn on yet—that’s because I should have done it here but I didn’t ;).

Pin the outer fabric pieces right sides together, and sew along the sides and the bottom with a 1/4” seam—leave the top open.  Please note that it may look like I sewed the top shut, but that is only the basting stitch from sewing the stabilizer on.

Take one of the bottom corners, and squeeze so you create a triangle following the sewn lines, as pictured.  Sew along the line that is already marked, and cut off the excess.  Repeat with the other bottom corner. 

Repeat all the above steps with your inner fabric, minus the basting of the stabilizer.  Also, sew the other piece of velcro onto the inner right side of the flap, where it will match up with the other piece of velcro.   

Once you are done sewing the inner fabric, you can either insert the outer bag into the inner portion, right sides together, and sew around the top, leaving a gap to turn and then topstitch around the whole thing.  That would be easy, but I like the way the bias tape looked, so that’s what I did.

So, if using bias tape, insert the inner portion into the outer portion, wrong sides together—so the outer bag is right side out at this point.

Sandwich the bias tape so that the narrower side is on the right side of the fabric.  Sew the bias tape on the narrow edge, so that the other side of the bias tape is also sewn.     

Treat the corners like a straight line.  Since the flap is curved, it might curl just slightly.  It irons out quite nicely though.

To stabilize the bag, you can do this optional step:  First, I pulled the lining away so I didn’t sew through that.  See the 3 pins?  I sewed one continuous line along the 3 sides that are pinned, just turning and adjusting at the corners.

You are pretty much just topstitching the outside.
Repeat on the other side of the bag, then along the two short edges of the bottom. 
Worked like a charm.  The good news is, if you’ve already made it then you can still add this extra step to make your bag hold it’s shape better!  
***The finished pictures do not show this step because it was done after the tutorial was finished.***

And you are done!

Enjoy!  Now, if only I could get my son to actually eat those healthy carrots…

I’d love to see if you make one!  You can upload your pics here!

**Some say PUL is not safe to have food up against.  So please just use your own judgement here.  thanks!