Snack Bags!

We’re going to make 3 snack size bags, but once you have the process down, you can make them any size you like.

Aplix/touchtape/velcro closure snack bags
1. Start with a Fat Quarter (FQ) cotton woven, which will be approximately 22″x18″.

2. Fold it in half, wrong sides together, so you now have a piece that’s 11″x18″.

3. Press the fold. In the picture, the fold is on the bottom.

4. Leave it folded and cut into 3 pieces. You will have 3 pieces that are 11″x6″ when folded.
First cut line:

Second cut line:

All cut!

5. Cut a piece of 1.5″ wide aplix loop (ie, the fuzzy side) 4″ long.
Attach aplix to fabric 1/2″ from fold, and center across (about 1″ from each edge).

I use an 80/12 universal needle and a medium zig zag stitch.

Put the piece back on your table, aplix side down, folded end closest to you.

6. Bring the fold up 4″, so your top flap is 3″.

7. Draw your rounded corners on the top flap. Quilter’s templates, round pattern weights, french curves or canned goods from the pantry all work well as tools to help you draw a smooth curve.
I start my curve about 1″ from where my folded fabric is. Look closely at the arrows and you should be able to barely see where my air erase marker lines are already fading!

8. Starting at one end, serge all the way around. (If you are using aplix, you will have already attached the loop part. I was putting a different closure on this bag.)

9. Attach the hook (scratchy) side now.
Attach about 1/2″ from top of flap, centering. I use 1″ hook for this side rather than 1.5″, just because it’s a little easier to pull apart that way, but if you only have 1.5″, that will work, too.


Alternate closures – snaps, buttons, elastic
Skip step 5, unless you want to attach your buttons at that step. I like to use two and attach them 1.5″ from the top of the fold and 1.5″ from the edge.

Attach closures at step 9.
Buttons – sew buttons on if you didn’t do it at step 5. I like to use two and attach them 1.5″ from the top of the fold and 1.5″ from the edge. Create button holes on flap. You can also use one button in the middle.

Snaps – same placement as buttons. I put sockets on the flap, but it’s really just personal preference.

Elastic – 5.5″ of 1/4″ elastic, attached with a short zig zag. Attach wherever your curve started. 1/8″ elastic will also work. 3/8″ is kind of big and may look a little funny on smaller bags, but it will do that job.
(You can attach the elastic at the same time as you serge around if you like, I just feel better about the tacking.)

After my assistant put a couple legos in it:

Foldover Closure Snack Bags
Steps 1-4 from above
5. Fold fabric right sides together and sew/serge raw ends together
Folded:

And serged:

6. Turn fabric right side out and press seam.
7. Lay flat and bring original folded end up to create 3″ flap at the top.

8. Fold seamed side under 2 3/4″ and press
In the picture, the 2 3/4″ side is underneath. See how there’s a 1/4″ between the original fold and the new fold we just made? That gives it a little wiggle room when we flip it over to close the bag later.

The back now looks like this:

9. Serge both open sides.
Here’s the front:

And here’s the back

To close the bag, take the back flap and flip it over the front.

It will look like this:

All done!

These were serged with a 80/12 ball point needle using a 3 thread overlock stitch. I used Wooly Nylon in both loopers and Maxi-Lock in the right needle. On my machine, I set the stitch length just past 2 and the width at 3.5.

Want to make it in a different size? No problem. To make a single bag, first decide how wide you want it to be. Then decide how tall it should be. I usually make the flap 3/4 the size of the height of the bag, which gives room for the curve. If you do it that way, you will need a piece that is the width you want by the length * 5.5.

Snack Bag Tutorial by Kelly Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.