diy by Grace Bonney 92

diy project: kate’s notebook lunchbag

lunchbag-text
oh i love this time of year. this month’s theme is definitely going to be back to school, because who can help but be at least a little excited about the start of fall and a new year for students everywhere. send your favorite student to school (or work) with this notebook lunchbag! this is completed in a jiffy and is very inexpensive. much like that pristine first page of a new notebook, the hardest part is deciding what to write on it. have fun! -kate

CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!

materials:

1. striped canvas fabric (1 yard)
2. sewing machine
3. red and cream thread
4. black fabric marker
5. ruler
6. scissors

bag-template
lunchbag-materials

instructions:

1. take your fabric and lay it on a flat surface. measure and cut out a large rectangle that is 34.5 x 33 (the 34.5 should be cut parallel to/along with the stripes, and the 33 should be cut perpendicular/through the stripes). this will be for a bag that is 8.5″ x 11″ (of course!) and 7″ deep. actually, the bag is really 12″ tall so that when you fold over the top and clip it shut you still have a 8.5″ x 11″ writing surface on the front.

2. cut out four 12.5″ squares from each corner of the rectangle. this leave you with a cross shape that is the shape of your bag with .5″ seam allowance on all sides.

3. using cream thread, hem the top of each flap by folding down .5″ into the inside lining of the bag.

4. draw a light vertical pencil line 2″ from the right edge on both the front and back of your bag, on the side of the fabric faces out (the outside of your bag). sew a line of red thread down this pencil line from the very top of the fabric to the bottom of the flap that makes that side of the bag. this is the guideline of your “notebook” paper.

5. now turn you fabric so the inside of the bag is facing out and sew each flap to the flap next to it, sewing in .5″ in from the edge (you can use cream or red thread for this, i used red). when you are finished snip the excess thread and flip inside out.

6. you now have your bag complete!! you can write whatever you want however you want with your black fabric pen. if you want to write it first with a light pencil and then go over it to ensure good penmanship, feel free!

YOU’RE DONE!!

lunchbag-interior
lunchbag-clip

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92 Comments

nicole

This is amazing!
it’s so simple and highly customizable.

I should be trying it out soon. I just hope I can find fabric as perfect as that one!

Sarah

I’ve been thinking I need to make myself a new lunch bag for work and this is perfect! I might try to embroider the words on the front if I can muster the patience. Looks awesome either way though.

&iam

Looks like great fun to make and a brilliant and simple way of bringing recycling into everyday objects.

Su

So cute. I can also see making something similar to store fabric scraps or yarn…. with embroidered labels, of course!

Renee

This is so cute! I’m totally making this for myself to bring my lunch to work in! Great idea!

E.Pinar

really cute.. and simple… like it so much.

I’d make one day…

rebecca

It’s very cute! And of course I’m a design dork and love the bulldog clip that isn’t like the usual ones.

SimaG

This is amazing!
I LOVE IT!

now,i just have to find the time to make it:)

LOVE,
♥ SimaG♥

Azul

I love this idea. It’s just what I need, since I’ll be bringing my lunch to work for the rest of the school year.

Off to the fabric store!

ann

i have always been obsessed with mattress ticking, in fact years ago i made a pair of pants to wear to a wedding with red ticking and people were in love with them. this is such a cute idea, i have no children but it makes me want to make one anyway, i can find someone to use it, i feel sure. great project!!! thanks!

GG

Would be cool to add a vinyl lining or something too for the inside. It’s amazingly adorable!

holliejane

love it!! am definatley going to make one to take my lunch to uni in!
Maybe play around with different fabric. and the vinyl inside idea was good

b

i like the idea of lining it with vinyl, and i’d love to see three little holes on the left side.

karen

Absolutely Perfect! I need to make one immediately for work where all the guys swipe my brown bag lunches & claim they thought it was theirs!

christina

where is the clip from? i haven’t seen one where the arm is in that shape..

Her name was Lola

What a marvelous idea. I’m certain your lunch bag is envied by all, no matter where it goes.

I feel so inspired to do the same {it would most certainly provide the inspiration to actually pack a lunch}!

Cheers.

P.S. We’re throwing a giveaway today!

c

Such a cute idea! Any recommendations for an inexpensive sewing machine that would fit into a tiny city apartment? Would love to try this out, but seems like hand sewing would lead to a less-than-ideal final product…

Lexy

Sooo fun! Can never find an adukt lunchbox! Now I get to make my own…

Nicole

That’s adorable! But what to write?

I’m so excited for back to school posts! I’m going back on tuesday and I would love to start the year off with some excellent diy to make the year hopeful.

Marie

Really good visual design, it’s adorable. However from a sewing point of view it’s really icky to have more scraps than fabric actually used… See the purlbee’s recent similar design for a much better approach.

grace

marie

scraps are definitely no fun if you throw them away, but we’ve posted a good amount of projects designed to make use of scraps. so even though this produces some, we’ll always show you a way to make the most of them, rather than toss them in the trash. ;)

grace

M

I would use the scraps to make a few little coin purse, a drink cozy and a pencil bag!

Christy Joy

Love this, I am totally making one for me and for friends. I can work on it now and be ready for Christmas! THANKS, so cute!!! :)

jeffrey

C- there is a wonderful little Brother machine at WalMart for 125.00 that will do more stitches than you could ever learn. I have it right next to my industrial straight sew machine.

Namita

I think I will borrow this to make a set of napkins as a gift . Love the idea – makes me think of one of my favorite works of art (John Baldessari’s “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art”

PixelHazard

Bookmarked! My sister is still toting an old cat in the hat lunch box which is getting a little gross. Must make her this!

Ghana

This is a great design. Later for the kids, I’m making this one for meself!
Thanks for sharing!

Hannah

i made one yesterday with my little sister :) it was a lot of fun. thanks so much for this project!
with the scraps i kept one as a napkin to put inside and with the other scraps i made a little pillow, to use when picnicking or a late night star gaze.

Sarah

I challenge anyone to think of something cuter to write on the front.

It can’t be done.

Jo

This is so much easier than I thought…the end result is so professional looking!

banu

Hey,
Thanks for this great post ! But I’ve got a problem here. I’ve been trying to figure out how you had that excess to flap over and clip shut? It seems like the bag should have 12″ after cutting off .5″ parts from top. Or should I cut off 1.5″ from top so that I could have 11″ length?

confues with this part;
“the bag is really 12″ tall so that when you fold over the top and clip it shut you still have a 8.5″ x 11″ writing surface on the front.”

kate

hey teresa and banu –
to answer your questions: fabric marker does not wash out. and banu, the bag is folded over an inch, but the clip goes down past that on the bag. the clip is overlapping some of the 8.5″ x 11″ writing surface. sorry if the way i worded it made it unclear.

Jane

Is she switching back and forth between cm or mm and inches?? How do I print the directions??

niki

Adorable! I’m thinking of using it as a gift bag for a teacher’s gift.

May

This is so cool, great idea for gifts for anyone who takes a lunch. I have to look for material.

Kay

i love this idea for a lunch bag. while I was looking at the picture you have for it I noticed a jumbo binder clip… would you mind telling me where you aquired it?

Nicole

This is great! Such an easy design, and I can even customize it for gift bags. Thanks for sharing and for the inspiration :)

Sandra

What imagination you have! This lunch bag is amazing. Particularly with the Bulldog clip. If I could only sew!

Lynne

How sweet that bag is! I am going to make one, too, but with a small additional feature, as I imagine that clip can easily get lost by a young child. I would like to find a way to attach one arm of the clip to the side of the bag. The clip can then hang inside the bag when lunch is removed. Any good ideas on how to do that? Elastic cord?

Nancy

I love this idea! I have tons of this fabric in my stash. Look out friends with children, this may be the gift of the year. Thanks!

The bullclip is the only I’d have to switch out. Maybe a fabric paperclip button? Any ideas?

Alex

I’m thinking I’ll finish the inside seams with some double fold bias tape, which will really prolong the washable life of this bag.

It could also easily be insulated. Make a sandwich of front fabric, right side down, insulation, and lining right side up. Do some quick quilting, then cut out the extra squares. (Instant pot holders!) Sew up, right sides together, then enclose all the raw edges with bias tape.

Suzanne

As a schoolteacher who just found bento boxes and made a commitment that this year I will stop work and eat/enjoy/laugh at lunch, I MUST MAKE THIS BAG FOR MYSELF AND ALL MY TEAMMATES (with different colored “ink” and our names)! Won’t it be too perfect for us? Even the kids will be jealous of our bags. Great idea and thanks a million for sharing it. :D

Mousey

Has anyone been able to find fabric similar to this online? I want to make this as a gift for my friend and I can’t find anything similar at all. :(

Lisa

EEK! This is a PERFECT gift for a teacher. Was just wondering, could I hand sew this?

Jeri

This fabric is ticking and is usually found atany place that has quilting materials. Also available in red. Pillows use to be made from this material

Donna

Just picked up my ticking fabric at Jo-Ann fabrics. It was in the Utility Fabric section and they had loads of it in red and the color shown above. I can’t wait to do this project!

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