Make your own DIY Chicken Feed Bag Market Tote

Feed bags are made of incredibly sturdy material and come in all sorts of pretty colors and patterns and it's a shame to just throw them out.

Some communities are banning plastic grocery bags, others are taking a few cents off your grocery bill for each tote bag you use.

But even if you live in an area that doesn't give an incentive to use a reusable tote bag, its still an in expensive, easy, eco-friendly way to help save the environment.

I have been sewing all our feed bags up into market tote bags which are great for groceries, knitting, books, the beach, or trips to the feed store.

They don't rip, hold a lot more than a regular plastic bag and are really easy to make, only requiring basic sewing skills and maybe a half  hour of your time.

DIY Chicken Feed Bag Market Tote

What you Need:

40 or 50 lb. Feed Bag (washed out and dried)

44" cotton clothesline (or you can use the discarded strips of bag to make straps)

Coordinating spool of thread and bobbin

Sewing machine fitted with a 90/14 medium-weight needle

Tape measure

Pinking shears

Straight Pins

What you Do:

To get started, lay your feed bag on a flat surface with the front side facing you.

Measure 21" vertically up the front of the bag, centering the design you will want on the front of your tote bag within the middle 17".  

Mark your cutting lines and cut the top and bottom off the bag (save the scraps if you want to use them as straps).

Turn the bag inside out.

With bag lying flat, sew along the bottom edge, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.

Next, with the bag still inside out, fold the bottom corners of bag, flattening the sides, so the each corner forms a triangle.  

Measure 4" from the point of the triangle down either side and mark that point.

Sew from one Sharpie point to the other across the bottom of the bag [this forms the flat bottom of your tote] and then trim off the point of each triangle using pinking shears, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.

This is what the corners will look like with the bag turned right side out.

With the bag still inside out, fold the top edge over one inch and then another inch, making sure it's folded evenly and the front design on the bag is straight.

To Make Straps out of the Feed Bag

Cut two strips from the reserved piece of feed bag that measure 3" wide and 22" long.

Then fold each strip into thirds, pin in place and then sew up each side to make two straps.

To Make Straps out of Clothesline

Cut two 22" long pieces of clothesline.

To Attach the Straps to the Tote Bag

To attach the straps to your tote bag, regardless of which type you decide to use, measure in 5" from either edge of the bag and tuck one end of each strap under the fold.

Repeat with the second strap on the other side of the bag.

The loop of the strap should be facing downwards towards the bottom of the bag.

Pin in place.

Once your straps are both pinned in place, sew along the lower edge of the fold to secure them.

Then flip the handles up and sew along the top edge of the bag, catching each handle to secure it in place.

This is what the finished handle will look like once it's sewn in place.

Now turn the bag right side out.  

Voila ! There you have it.

A cute upcycled, eco-friendly feed bag market tote!

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