Tutorial: Pillowcase Shopping Bag

A while ago I posted about some cute retro pillowcases that I picked up from the charity shop. As usual, they lived in a drawer whilst I became distracted with jewellery!

This week, however, I made up my mind about what to do with one of the pillowcases.

So here is my upcycled, eco-friendly, repurposed, super-duper pillowcase shopping bag!

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This is probably the easiest thing I could have created, since it made use of the existing shape of the pillowcase. I lost track of how long it took to make the bag since I had to go and do other things a few times!

I think this is a great way of using old pillowcases and of course, using cloth shoppers is much better (and looks much cooler) than relying on plastic carrier bags!

Want to make your own? Here’s a tutorial:

You’ll need:

An old pillowcase

Trim (optional)

Dressmaking chalk/similar

Ruler

Sewing machine

1. Measuring from the bottom seam of the pillowcase, draw a line across at the desired height of your bag (mine was 17 inches). Then draw a second line 2 inches above the first.

2. Cut off at the upper line.

3. Turn the bag piece inside out and reinforce the stitching on the sides. Then bring the two corners together. Place a pin 1 inch from each corner, across the seam.

4. Sew across each corner where you pinned to give the bag a squared base.

5. Unpick the stitching at the top part of the pillow case (I didn’t need to do this as it was already coming undone!) then cut the top three inches off both sides. These will be the straps.

6. Fold over the sides of one of the pieces you just cut, ensuring the pre-hemmed side is on top. Pin and sew.

7. My stitching is a bit rubbish and the pillowcase had a small hole in it, so I used trim on the bag and straps to hide this! ;)

8. Fold over the top two inches of the bag and pin and then pin on the straps. Sew on with two rows of stitching.

9. To strengthen the straps, sew a rectangle where the strap and bag are joined, with an X in the centre.

10. Show off your bag to envious onlookers at your local shop ;)

Will be linking up  at the parties in the side bar!