If you had cloth grocery bags would you use them?
If you did, would you prefer heavy-weight stiff canvas (well not that stiff) or something light weight but still strong (nylon, like a windbreaker, perhaps)?
I have been thinking about it for myself… ecologically sound and all that….
Any thoughts on the subject? Size? Long or short handles? Closures at the top? Dark or Light color? Print or solid? etc.
I use cloth grocery bags; at least, when I remember to put them back in the car.
I like canvas over nylon – may just be psychological, but it seems stronger. Also, canvas bags generally have wider straps, which are easier to deal with then the bag is full. They also tend to be a little more stable when empty, which makes loading easier – you can set the bag up and load it like a box; you don’t have to keep the bag open with one hand like you would with a nylon bag.
My favorite grocery bags are the ones that are a bit boxy .. not so boxy that they have inserts in the bottom and all, those look so industrial .. but boxy enough to fit box of cereal just right. I have some that are deeper without a defined bottom, and those are just not nearly as handy.
Height of bag, no higher than a box of cereal. But you want something with volume – generally I put about 3 plastic bags content into one canvas bag (the canvas bags I like). But you don’t want more than, say, a 2-gallon volume. I think a 2-gallon capacity is about right – lots of volume, but won’t get too heavy to lift, even if you do foolishly put 2 gallons of milk in the one bag.
Handles neither short nor long, but closer to short. You don’t want to sling them over the shoulder, but you do want to be able to comfortably grab the handles up, over, or around any contents. If you have short handles and tall boxes (or something wide), you’ll be pretty limited on carrying options. The only thing is handles that are SECURE. I’ve torn handles that were just sewn to the edges. My favorite bag has straps that are sewn all the way down to the base. It’s a decorative thing, but it also means that I trust those straps. I do put 2 gallons of milk in that bag. Plus some.
I don’t have an opinion on closures … I have one bag that has a nifty zip close top, but it’s not a grocery bag (it’s a Breyerfest bag). The zip top makes it very nice for protecting contents, but it’s a bit of a pain. I’d probably never use a closure for a grocery bag.
Color doesn’t matter to me at all. All of mine are light canvas, and show the dirt something awful. Well, one has a navy bottom, and then navy straps that extend all the way down both sides (the decorative thing as mentioned above). It’s a good bag .. lots of volume, and it doesn’t look dirty like the others do. But as a design principle, whatever floats your boat is fine.
Helpful. I have been looking at several bag patterns online. From what you say, i think this one would be best.
http://make-it-easy.com/opentot2.html
It has straps that extend down the sides and under the bottom, and i think sewing that square bottom on might give the bag a more stable rectangular shape.
And from what you say about bags getting dirty, i wonder if dark prints might be best.
I have been thinking about cloth shopping bags. Not only are they “green,” they are sturdier and i think they would be easier to handle.
That does look like a good pattern.
I’m afraid all of my bags have been sort of accidental bags – the TRRS bag and RFBD bag that I got for working one of their events or for an end-of-year appreciation … the WWF bag they sent as a thank you for donating (not that I wanted them to send a bag; I donated in spite of the offer rather than because of it, and that’s the bag whose strap broke) … the Humane Society bag that I actually purchased …
So I never really thought about what one would do if one were making a bag. I just sort of have all these bags and had to do something with them. Carrying groceries seemed a reasonable choice.
Anyway, it’s a good pattern – the straps all the way around the bag is very nice. You might want to make two bags to begin with and makes the straps slightly longer and slightly shorter, to see what kind of strap length you like. I do think that the added bottom panel is a good idea.
If nothing else, the bottom panel lets you play with coordinating colors and designs. You can do other decorative stuff in the canvas between .. depending on what cloth you choose.
Ann makes lots of bags .. she embroiders them, of course, but that’s one of her products. ..