Homemade Linen Bread Bag Tutorial
Today, I am going to show you how easy it is to make your own homemade linen bread bag with a simple tutorial. Linen is the best fabric for keeping your bread fresh. Why is linen better? Linen is derived from the flax plant. Are you familiar with flaxseeds? Flaxseed oil? Yep, that’s the one. Linen is strong, naturally moth resistant, and, when untreated (not dyed or bleached), is fully biodegradable. It is light and can simultaneously absorb excess moisture as well as discourage the formation of bacteria or mold.
The woven fibers that make up linen fabric make it breathable and an ideal material to preserve bread, especially homemade or store–bought rustic bread loaves. Linen will keep the inside of a bread loaf soft yet maintain its crust crisp better than any other type of storage. I’m not saying a linen bread bag is a miracle worker that will keep bread from ever turning stale; it is just a far better option than paper (bread stales too quickly) or plastic (unhealthy for humans and the worst material for the environment). Give it a try and enjoy your bread (homemade or store-bought) for a few more days.
How to Make
If you are looking for easy ways to reduce your waste as well as harmful chemicals, this is a pretty basic tutorial you can try. Just follow the steps in this tutorial and you’ll learn how to make a bread bag in minutes. You can also download this PDF file for written step by step instructions with photos.
For a Zero Waste Approach
If you’re crafty and have leftover fabric scraps from other projects (like my reusable makeup remover pads), you can quilt up those scraps into different shapes and sizes to fit your needs. Then follow the instructions.
This photo tutorial is for a homemade linen bread bag (you can choose another fabric, of course, but unbleached organic linen is best) with a drawstring closure and finished with French seams. It keeps my bread covered and hung away from any possible little critters. There is also an enormous opportunity here to add some fantastic embroidery, perhaps a monogram? (Think holiday gifts).
IIf you plan on embroidering, do so now with the larger fabric, plug in your iron and get it going. The opportunity will not be completely lost once it’s finished, but doing it now is way easier.
Homemade Linen Bread Bag
Yield: 1 Linen Bread Bag
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Cost: $20
Materials & Tools
- A 9 x 34 in. rectangular piece of linen
- Matching thread
- 1 yard (36 in.) of 1 in. twill tape
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Measuring tape or ruler
- Disappearing ink pen
- Iron & board
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Fabric
To get started, fold your linen fabric in half. Beginning at the fold, measure 17 inches. This will leave you with a total length of 34 inches (of unfolded linen).
Align the two long edges of your folded fabric piece wrong sides together (right side facing you) and pin. This step is key when making French seams. If you’re serging and then using regular seams then you would fold the fabric with right sides together
Step 2: Measure The Fabric
The width of your folded linen will be around 9 inches.
Step 3: Finish the Raw Edges
If you have an overlock machine (serger), you can finish the seams with it. I chose French seams. This step is completely optional, but it makes for a more finished look as well as seams that will not fray.
Step 4: Making French Seams
Stitch the two raw edge sides of the bag ¼ inch from the raw edge. Trim off half of the seam allowance.
Flip the bag inside out and press, then pin. Now your bag is inside out. Stitch again the two longer sides at ¼ inch from the outside.
Flip the bag right side out again and press. You now have nice finished edges on the inside of your bag and your outside edges will be folded into your tubing.
Step 5: Finish Opening for Drawstring
Along the one remaining open short end mark ¼ inch from the raw edge. Fold your fabric outwards at this line and press the entire length of the piece. You’re creating the edge of your drawstring tubing here.
Next, make another mark on this fold ½ inch down from the top (where the fold begins). Fold the raw edge out about ¼ inch and press again. Next, fold that edge in at the ½ inch mark you’ve made and again, press. Pin in place and stitch along the bottom side of your tube leaving only about ½ inch open, this is where you’ll feed in the drawstring (twill tape). Making sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end to reinforce your seams. Press.
Step 6: Choosing Your Drawstring
For the drawstring, you can use whatever string or cord you have available. You can even use the edge of your linen for your drawstring. You know, the edge of a roll of linen that you just trim off and throw away? It makes the perfect string, and is a great zero waste approach. I used some leftover twill tape.
Step 7: Feeding Your Drawstring
Attach a safety pin to the end of your string to guide it through the hemmed tubing. This is where that gap we left unsewn comes in handy. Just stick it through that opening and work it along the edge until it is all the way through.
Step 8: Finishing The Linen Bread Bag
Press the whole thing one last time, and you’re done!
How to Care for Your Linen Bread Bag
When you need to wash this linen bread bag, stick to the basics: Use cold water in the washer or hand wash. Try to avoid using bleach, because the linen is organic. And be careful to tie the ends of the drawstring so that it does not slip out during the wash cycle and joins all those missing socks!
Will you be making your own linen bread bag? Let me know how they ended up, I love getting feedback. If you have some ideas for improvement, share them in the comments section below.
Sources, video and photo credits:
Linen Bread Bag Tutorial
https://blog.fabrics-store.com/2011/10/15/diy-linen-bread-bag/
October 15, 2011 by Nicole Novembrino
Sewing: Linen Bread Bag & French Seams
http://www.ecabonline.com/2010/07/sewing-linen-bread-bag-french-seams_23.html
Friday, July 23, 2010