November 22 - Plastic Bag Holder

I made one of these a few years ago and use it almost everyday. It holds my plastic bags in a confined space and allows me to pull one out at a time.

I started with a rectangle of leftover fabric.


I cut two strips of elastic, about the length of my scissors. In hindsight, it could have been shorter.



I folded over the edge on the top side of my rectangle, the shorter side. I folded it over almost twice the width of my elastic. Note: Don't sew the elastic on here; the elastic is sitting there just for size reference! I sewed a my little "pocket" at the top where my elastic would go.



After that I needed to put the elastic in the top hem. I used a safety pin to help me maneuver it through the fabric.



When the elastic was through, it was time to attach the elastic to the fabric. I did this by firmly grabbing the elastic and lining it up with the end of my pocket. I then top stitched right over it so it would be held in place. I did the same to the other side of the pocket.



I then repeated the elastic pocket process on the bottom. After that was done, I placed the right sides together and pinned my edge seam.



It's really starting to come together!



I wanted a handle, so I cut a strip of the same fabric, turned the right sides together, sewed, then turned it right side-out.



Before I attached it to the bag, I made sure that it would give me a good loop without a twist in it. That would be the worst!



Here is the finished product, all ready to be loaded up with plastic bags!