ReUsable Shopping Bags

I had a great time doing some sewing before Christmas! I came up with the idea to recover/redo some shopping bags and it worked out very well! Here, they do not give you shopping bags when you go to the grocery store (I'm still having a hard time breaking down and buying bathroom size trash bags!), so we buy the reusable kind. Who wouldn't want a personalized bag for shopping? :o)
I bought the largest size bag that they have here. I cut it into three basic pieces. 2 pieces are the sides and one is the bottom. I trimmed up the sides so they had the same width as the bottom piece.

Then, I cut fabric to fit on each piece. For the sides, I put a different colored strip on the top, just to make it a little different. (As I made more, I varied this pattern up for fun!) I also cut two strips for the handles. (I won't give you the measurements on those, because for every bag I made I changed it. I couldn't decide how long and how wide I liked it!)

For the handles I ironed each piece to the middle, then folded the whole thing in half. Then, I stitched it down. For every bag, I tried a new fun stitch on my machine. I loved this part!

Then, I sewed the cut up bag to the fabric. First, I ironed down 1/2 inch on the top so to make a little neater finish and not have a raw edge. I also tried to do varied lines, almost quilting style. I also sewed on the handle. First, I tucked it under the piece that is folded over the bag....

...then, folded it back up, so to try and secure the handle down really well.

You should now have 3 basic sections. Sew a side to one side of the bottom. (right sides together)

Then, add the other side to the other side of the bottom piece.

Then, put right sides together and sew up the sides!

To make the box bottom, I folded down the center bottom of the bag until it was a point. Then, I measured and drew 2 1/2 inches from the point, sewed down the line, then cut.

Turn right side out and you're finished! I ended up making 8 in all and had a great time doing it! I am definitely not an expert at sewing. (My Mom taught me this week one of the basics, that I really should have known!)

This was one of my first bag projects! But, I'm excited about how they turned out.