Lunch Box DIY

I highly doubt summing a person up into one word is ever feasible, but there are a few words that tend strike at the heart of my every day, the most common being practicality. I like things to make sense, be easy. And whether it be time or money or materials I like to cause as little waste as possible (with the exception of my closet but we don’t talk about that).

Recently I realized I go through a lot of lunch packaging waste. Normally I use bags left over from shopping of some sort or another. But over the last couple years I have nearly stopped taking bags from stores (except for the occasional unplanned trip to the store when my canvas bags aren’t on me at the time). I have tried using canvas bags for lunch. However they are big, shapeless and prone to pitching my food around and making a huge mess. So a couple weeks ago I took on a lunch bag project that actually turned out pretty well. I chose oilcloth because it is easy to wipe down, washable in the machine and a tad insulated. So far I have managed to sit on it (with a peach inside) and not get fruit mash all over my dress (thank you oilcloth). And If something can withstand my klutzy-ness chances are its indestructible.  So I considered the project a raging sucess!

Oilcloth Lunch Bag

-1/2 yard Oilcloth

- 1 inch adhesive Velcro strip

- scissors

- sewing machine

- paper sack of your choosing (for size/pattern)

- thread to match oilcloth fabric

-pins

I first chose a paper sack size/style that worked for me. Since I work full time and go to school part time I needed a pretty large bag to carry lunch/dinner around most days of the week. The bag I made for boyfriend was slightly smaller, for the smaller bag a standard paper lunch sack would do the trick. I cut the paper sack down into logical pieces, four sides and the bottom.

Lined up my new “pattern” on the oil cloth for maximum use of material. Pinned it into place. Cut out my pieces. Removed pins and pattern. And reconstructed the bag with the oilcloth bits. At the top I did a double hand rolled hem, which my machine really didn’t like because the oilcloth is a bit waxy/rubbery and the teeth on my sewing machine kept sticking.

But minus a bit of swearing and two jumped seams it only took about an hour to make and it wound up being the easiest thing I have ever sewn.

I hope you have a chance to try this out, and if you make any modifications like adding handles or compartments please share. I would love to see/hear how they turned out.