My Own Eco-Friendly Produce Bags

A few weeks back I found these pale blue sheer curtains at a flea market. I got two panels for $5.00. I washed them in hot water and bleach, then hung them to dry. I had plans to repurpose them as reusable eco-friendly produce bags.

This tiny white "treat" bag from a wedding was my inspiration, not so much for the bag itself since that was just a simple rectangle, but I LOVE the drawstrings. Not just your ordinary drawstrings, these are the type that draw shut from both sides, and are super-easy to re-open.

Here is one of my finished bags. In cutting up the sheers I found I would be able to get 8 to 10 bags out of each panel, so I'll end up with a total of at least 16 bags. Four are completely finished. The next dozen will sew up quickly since now I've got all the shortcuts figured out.

The drawstrings are a teensy bit more trouble than the regular ones (that draw shut only on one side) because two separate strings must be threaded completely through the casing but are worth it for their ease of use and, I think, they're just cuter! I used lengths of yarn that I have in my stash so the 16 to 20 bags I'll end up with only cost me $5.00 and a little of my time.

Here is one of the bags with three Gala apples inside, giving an idea of the size of the bags, which are very close to the standard plastic ones available in any grocery store.

I'm pretty happy with them!