Plastic Bag Holder

Creating a durable cloth plastic bag holder is easy to do. In less than thirty minutes, you can construct an efficient, yet attractive plastic bag holder in six easy steps.

Select a fabric that 80% or greater natural materials, such as cotton, flax, or hemp and wash and dry on high heat to shrink well. Cut 18×29 inches worth of fabric makes an excellently sized bag holder. Steam iron the fabric from raw edge to raw edge. You can also choose to use a pillowcase, as a standard case is 21×32 inches. Any place like Amvets or the Salvation Army is bound to have a lot of single cases to choose from.

Stitch around the edge on three sides, giving a 1/2 inch allowance, lifting the foot to reposition at the corners, which will give the corners a crisper point to work with. Then fold in half, face to face, as if making a smaller version of a pillowcase and stitch.

If you use a pillowcase, cut open the machine stitched seams, and cut off the extra fabric at that opened seam only (do not get distracted and cut along the bottom decorative edge) to create a 18×29 inch panel. Then stitch the three edges giving a 1/2 inch seam allowance, and leaving a 1 inch opening at the decorative edge on both sides of the panel. Fold that upcycled pillowcase in half, face to face, as if making a smaller version of a pillowcase and stitch except for that last 1 inch bit you left open at the decorative edge.

Slide the tube onto the narrow end of the ironing board and iron a 1 1/4 inch flap along the fourth side. If you used a pillowcase, you won’t have to do this step as this will be decorative edge.

Use two pins to mark a two inch opening at that crease/stitched area.

Pull the pins out and cut off the extra thread.

Use pinking shears on both ends of an 18 inch cut of ribbon. Attach a safety pin to one end and feed through the stitched flap, or decorative edge. Retrim if the pulled edge comes out a bit funny.

Stitch the small opening at an angle.

Flip to the opposite end. Take the attachment off your sewing machine to reveal the sleeve arm. You can pleat by hand as you stitch or pin in place then stitch. Depends on skill and comfort level. The bottom hole should not exceed the diameter of the sleeve arm. You can also pin in place and stitch by hand if you want a smaller opening.

Pull the ribbon until the top has a roughly 5 inch in diameter opening. Tie off in a bow. It is now ready to stuff with bags and hang up. Enjoy!