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Merriment Design

DIY projects, crafts, free sewing patterns and printables that look handmade, not homemade

Home / Occasion / Baby & Kids / How to sew reusable fabric sandwich and snack bags

How to sew reusable fabric sandwich and snack bags

April 8, 2014 by Kathy

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Free sandwich bag and snack bag sewing pattern and tutorial. Use this free sewing pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

This free sandwich bag sewing pattern and tutorial is so easy you’ll be able to replace your old plastic snack bags in no time.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

I designed these free fabric sandwich bag and snack bag sewing patterns to have extra large flaps. The flaps act like teeny little place mats, which helps avoid germ fests like when your daughter puts her carrots onto a random table at Lincoln Park Zoo (happened with our old snack bags, pretty gross, so I made sure that mine had flaps).

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

And oh boy, you’re going thank me me for this new product that I’m going to show you. It’s called VELCRO® Sticky Back for Fabrics and it makes sewing projects with VELCRO® brand fasteners a helluva lot easier.

VELCRO® Brand sponsored me to make this tutorial but all opinions are mine. As a lazy sewer I am loving the new VELCRO® Brand Sticky Back for Fabrics fasteners because you can put them on *after* your project is completely sewn. That means no measuring or guessing placement on cut pieces before sewing. Yep, you can just sew the whole thing up and put the VELCRO® Brand fastener on as the last step. No more mistakenly placed fasteners. Hooray!

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to whip out a whole set of reusable sandwich bags and reusable snack bags – just in time for Earth Day.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!


Supplies for sewing reusable sandwich bags and snack bags:

  • 1/5 yard food safe fabric (I know this is a hot topic. I used 100% cotton for the outside and rip-stop nylon fabric for the inside. There’s a lot of debate out there on the safety of liner fabrics like oil cloth and PUL for these sandwich bags. Basically, the safest way is to just use a cotton fabric material on the inside too but then it’s not waterproof. Waterproof-wise, people seem to recommend pack cloth for best food safety. I feel good with using rip stop fabric but you do what you feel best for your family.)
  • VELCRO® Sticky Back for Fabrics 3/4″ strips
  • Kathy’s free curves pattern (PDF)
  • 1 package single fold bias tape – 1/2″ wide
  • Thread
  • Sewing machine
  • Basic sewing supplies

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How to make reusable sandwich bags and snack bags:

1. Cut the bag lining and outside fabric pieces:

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Two pieces of 19″ x 6.5″ for sandwich sized bag (finished size 7″ x 6-1/2″)
Two pieces of 10-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ for snack sized bag (finished size 4″ x 5-1/2″)

Cut the flap curves: on one short side of the rectangles trace and cut corner curves either by using the free flap curve pattern or by simply putting a drinking glass on the edge of the corner and using that shape.

2. With right sides together, place the bag lining on top of the bag outside. Sew 1/4″ seam along the squared short side (the short side opposite of the curved flap).

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Turn so wrong sides are together.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Topstitch close to the edge on the right side.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

3. Place the sewn rectangle onto your working surface matching up raw edges.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Fold the bottom sewn edge up 7″ for the sandwich sized bag or 4″ for the snack size bag and secure with barrettes or clips.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

4. Place bias tape on the front left edge of the sandwich bag, letting 1/4″ overhang.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Sew the bias tape around the perimeter of the bag.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Trim the bias tape leaving 1/4″ overhang.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

5. Turn the bias tape over to the other side, folding over the overhang. Sew close to the bias tape edge.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

6. For the sandwich bag, cut a 2″ piece VELCRO® Sticky Back for Fabrics. Peel release liner, place the hook (scratchy side) 1-1/2″ from the bag top, and thoroughly press fastener to fabric.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Use a tablespoon to fully rub it in.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Place the loop (soft side) about 1/2″ from the top of the flap…

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

…and rub with a tablespoon to fully adhere.

For the snack bag, cut a 1″ piece of VELCRO® Sticky Back for Fabrics and place it 1/2″ from the top and bottom.

7. Allow 24 hours for adhesive to set up before washing in cold or warm water only – no hot water.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

8. Fill with sandwiches. Wash in the washing machine and allow to air dry.

Fabric sandwich bag and snack bag free sewing pattern and tutorial. Sew these machine washable fabric sandwich bags in two sizes pattern and say goodbye to plastic baggies!

Tell me in the comments below: What do you think about this reusable fabric sandwich bag free sewing pattern?

Thanks again to VELCRO® Brand for sponsoring this free sewing tutorial. I only work with brands that I love, and I thank YOU for supporting the brands that help support Merriment Design!

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Copyright stuff: You’re more than welcome to use this free project and tutorial for personal use. Contact me for commercial use and etsy sales.

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Filed Under: Baby & Kids, DIY Gift Ideas, DIY Tutorials, Free Patterns, Sewing Projects, Sponsored, Under $10, Under 1 Hour

About Kathy

I'm Kathy, maker of things and Chicago mom who likes simple and clever DIYs that look handmade, not homemade. I like sewing, printables, handmade birthdays, holiday decor and easy cakes. See my work at HGTV, DIY Network, Apartment Therapy, DesignSponge, more. ✂️

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Comments

  1. 1

    Marni @ Haberdashery Fun says

    April 8, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    These are great. I like that you used rip stop for the lining…

  2. 2

    Robin says

    June 26, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    I love your design! I have made several and use rip stop. I will try this one. These are great scrap buster.

  3. 3

    Judy McNeece says

    June 30, 2014 at 8:52 am

    Hi: Don’t know is you are aware that you cannot get the curved pattern from free flap curved pattern.

    I really love your pattern and I am going to make several this afternoon.

    • 4

      Kathy Beymer says

      June 30, 2014 at 10:46 pm

      Hi Judy, thanks for letting me know! The broken link should be fixed now if you want to use my curve pattern. I’d love to see what you make! You can post it at facebook.com/merrimentdesign and I’ll share it with everyone.

  4. 5

    Veta says

    June 30, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    Your style is unique compared to other bags I’ve seen. I’m going to give this style a try.

  5. 6

    Sarah says

    February 23, 2015 at 10:41 am

    I would think that the lunch bags are not very good unless washed each time or still put in sandwich bag before using. I can see these not being very hygienic.

  6. 7

    Lisa says

    February 23, 2015 at 4:00 pm

    Your web pages are HUGE! They took FOREVER to download even over a 25 Mbps connection.

    Suggest you talk to your web master about reducing the size of some of the images.

  7. 8

    Guilitta says

    February 24, 2015 at 1:36 am

    Is there any pdf? I could not download it. I thing its too big.

    Greeting Guilitta

  8. 9

    Sue @ Sewing Furniture says

    February 15, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    Awesome bags! I love the little robot graphic and the orange lining! I’ve just linked to your site in my recent post on reuseable sandwich bags!
    http://www.sewingfurniture.org/four-awesome-sandwich-bag-patterns/

    • 10

      Kathy Beymer says

      February 20, 2016 at 6:45 am

      Thank you for sharing my sandwich bag tutorial, Sue! I’m going to pin your post and take a look at your lunch box post too!

  9. 11

    Denise says

    September 12, 2016 at 11:14 am

    I’m new to this and wondering how you ‘wash’ the bags. Can they just be tossed into the washer and dryer? Looking to make it easy on me to clean them. Love the tutorial! Off to find some rip stop fabric!
    Thanks!
    Denise

    • 12

      Kathy Beymer says

      September 12, 2016 at 11:43 am

      Hi Denise! I wash mine in the washing machine and then hang dry. Here’s what I do: I turn the bags inside out and attach the VELCRO� Brand fasteners to each other so they don’t catch on anything else. Then I usually toss them into a mesh lingerie bag just so I can easily find them because I don’t want to dry them in my dryer. Be sure to follow the VELCRO� Brand Sticky Back for Fabrics directions to adhere the fasteners. I like this product because I don’t have to measure where to put them; I just stick them on when everything is sewn which is so much easier. Show me your finished bags at facebook.com/merrimentdesign and I’ll share them with the group. Happy sewing!

  10. 13

    Annette says

    December 7, 2016 at 7:28 am

    That’s really Brilliant!

    • 14

      Kathy says

      December 16, 2016 at 1:55 pm

      Thanks, Annette! Happy sewing.

  11. 15

    Tamara says

    February 5, 2017 at 8:21 am

    My daughter in law asked me to make these for my grandson. Your page popped up and made it look easy. I can’t wait to make some.

    Thank you

    • 16

      Kathy says

      February 14, 2017 at 9:34 am

      Hi Tamara, how did they turn out? We are still using the first batch I ever made and they still come out of the washing machine in good shape, so your daughter-in-law will have these for years. Thanks for your comment!

Kathy Beymer from Merriment Design
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