Rainbow Max Bag

I designed this bag more than ten years ago. I have always been a fan of the rainbow, and when reusable shopping bags became popular had this idea for a nesting shopping bag you could take to the grocery store. I used plastic mesh so the bags could be wiped down easily or rinsed, which would be especially useful in the time of COVID. Because the plastic mesh is sturdy, the bags could also be used to organize files and other items. The bags are constructed by stitching the sections together using cotton Perle. There are six nesting bags in total, and the handles form a rainbow.

• 24 sheets of 10.5" x 13.5" plastic mesh
• DMC 5 Cotton Perle in the following colors:
  • Red #666
  • Orange #946
  • Yellow #726
  • Green #700
  • Blue #312
  • Purple #550
• Scissors
• Crewel needle

Note: The plastic mesh is approximately 7-count (exactly 6.67 squares per inch) all measurements are in squares, so in the first example, 90 (13.5 inches) x 70 (10.5 inches) would be the entire sheet. When cutting, cut as close to the parallel as possible to avoid sharp pieces of the perpendicular lines.

Red:

• 2 of 70 x 90 for front/back
• 2 of 70 x 44 for sides
• 1 of 90 x 44 for bottom
• 2 of 90 x 6 for strap

Orange:

• 2 of 69 x 88 for front/back
• 2 of 69 x 42 for sides
• 1 of 88 x 42 for bottom
• 2 of 84 x 6 for strap

Yellow:

• 2 of 68 x 86 for front/back
• 2 of 68 x 40 for sides
• 1 of 86 x 40 for bottom
• 2 of 78 x 6 for strap

Green:

• 2 of 67 x 84 for front/back
• 2 of 67 x 38 for sides
• 1 of 84 x 38 for bottom
• 2 of 72 x 6 for strap

Blue:

• 2 of 66 x 84 for front/back
• 2 of 66 x 36 for sides
• 1 of 82 x 36 for bottom
• 2 of 66 x 6 for strap

Purple:

• 2 of 65 x 80 for front/back
• 2 of 65 x 34 for sides
• 1 of 80 x 34 for bottom
• 2 of 60 x 6 for strap

• Using the cotton perle, use a blanket stitch to join the sides and bottom.
• Use a whip stitch to finish top of bag.
• Use a whip stitch to finish the edges of handle, attaching the straps as follows:
  • Red - 16 squares from edge
  • Orange - 18 squares from edge
  • Yellow - 20 squares from edge
  • Green - 22 squares from edge
  • Blue - 24 squares from edge
  • Purple - 26 squares from edge

Each bag fits snuggly into the previous bag. The handles will form a rainbow when all six bags are nested.