Reusable Snack Bags

These fun Reusable Snack Bags are perfect for lunches, road trips, and more. They're already a big hit in our house. My kids love taking them in their lunches every day (even my 13-year old was cool with them).

I have a few friends who use cool reusable snack bags for their kids' lunches...I thought it would be fun to make some with this fabric I found. The new movie is just around the corner...and our lunches totally fit the part. Check out this reusable snack bags tutorial below.

The beauty of these lunch bags is that they can be totally customized to fit your needs. I made three different sizes, but the possibilities are endless here. The interior is lined with oilcloth for easy clean up. At the end of the day, I turn them inside out, wipe them with soapy water, then rinse off and let dry on a dish drainer overnight.

The bag I'm sharing the tutorial for today is a sandwich-sized bag. I seriously measured a piece of bread to get the dimensions for this one. But, it fits a sandwich like a glove.

You'll need two square pieces of fabric for your outer lining (for this size, I used 7"x7"), two pieces of oilcloth for inner lining (also in 7"x7"), and two pieces of velcro in 6.5" lengths (you'll use a quarter of an inch seam, so the velcro will fit the opening perfectly. You'll also need coordinating thread. 

If you've never sewn oilcloth, you may find it easier to get a teflon presser foot for your sewing machine. I just used my regular foot and was super careful about not allowing the oilcloth to stick to the foot when sewing.

Start by adhering (or sewing if your velcro isn't the adhesive type) your velcro pieces to one end of the shiny side of your oil cloth pieces.

Take one piece of your oilcloth (with the velcro in place) and lay one piece of your outer fabric on top (shiny side of oilcloth touching the right side of your fabric). Take this to your sewing machine and do a basic stitch on the side where the velcro is (just on the outside of the velcro) to attach the two pieces of fabric together.

Tack it at both ends of your seam with a backstitch. Just use a simple basic stitch here with a quarter inch seam allowance.

Repeat this with the other set of fabric and lining, too. Open this up and finger press it (oilcloth will melt with a real iron...guess how I know?).

Lay these two sewn pieces, right sides together and line up your two velcro strips so the bag is even all around. Pin all around. You will leave a three inch opening on the oil cloth side of the bag (I used clips here so I wouldn't accidentally sew that closed. Sew with a basic stitch and a quarter inch seam allowance around the entire perimeter, except that three inch opening on the oil cloth side. It won't matter which way your seam in the middle lays when you sew over it. 

You can see how it looks when sewn. Clip your corners (on the oilcloth side, too...I snapped the above pic a bit early in the process). This will make for nice, pointy corners when turned right side out.

Reach through that opening you left and pull the entire bag right side out (you'll have to use your fingertips to bust through the velcro in the process). Use a pointy object (super carefully) to push out those corners. Take that opening on the lining side and fold in about a half an inch. You will then sew a straight basic stitch over that to close it up.

This is how it looks when all sewn shut. Now, just push the oilcloth side into the fabric side and your reusable snack bag is ready to go.

I'm seriously in love with these!

My boys are now old enough that they help pack lunches, too. Score!

We gave our lunch a fun Halloween vibe with Halloween-shaped pretzels and a fun face on the clementine with a marker. 

Once your lunch is made, just seal the velcro.

Super cute, right?

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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