Martha Stewart Market Bags

This is actually the project that got me started on my sewing kick.

I had seen quite a few tutorials using dishtowels to create a simple little bag. I especially liked this tutorial, which has great step by step instructions and pictures. She used Martha Stewart towels to create a nice lined bag.

I had also seen a few projects online using these Martha Stewart Say Fruit International dish towels. They came in a pack of 7 or 8, each with a different fruit pictured, as well as the fruit name written in several different languages.

Around the same time, I had been looking for market bags to use for groceries – I seem to end up at the store at least once a day, and I wanted to have a bag I could reuse.

I decided I wanted to sew my own, using these dish towels. Only problem… I didn’t know how to sew at the time. The solution: my mom!

When she came up to Vermont for a visit this past winter, I convinced her to bring over her sewing machine so we could have a lesson. With her help, I managed to make a bag similar to the one shown in the tutorial above. It worked out well, but really wasn’t very useful as a market bag since it didn’t have a flat bottom and consequently didn’t hold too much. Cute, but not very practical.

Mom to the rescue again – she came up with this new design, which allowed us to sew in a flat bottom and sides, greatly expanding the size of the bag.

I made several of these bags – using the various fruit towels and corresponding patterned fabric for the lining.

I must say, they make grocery shopping a little more pleasant!