Pantsleg Grocery Bags

I know I've presented this material before, in the Piker Press, in an article called "Grocery Shopping: Panstlegs or Plastic."

However, I wanted to make the information as widely known as I know how to do, and Google is very interested in Blogger information; maybe other people can find this little demonstration more easily if it's on the blog as well as in the Press.

The first time checkout people see the denim shopping bags, I have to explain what they are; usually the checker picks them up and starts looking for a bar code to scan. After I explain that these are my shopping bags, the next question is "You MADE these?" (I don't know why that's so unusual.)

The baggers get really friendly with the bags then, and handle them a lot, stroking the fabric and opening them to look inside. The first time they load them, they seem a bit awkward and tentative -- it is a different shape of a bag for them, after all.

The next time is quite different. They handle the bags confidently, and will even lecture a co-worker on how to load them for maximum efficiency.

Other customers have admired the bags, too, but most of them have no idea how simple the construction is. That's why I'm reprinting (with permission) the plans from the article in the Piker Press.

Cut the pants legs away from the rest of the pants.

Cut the weaker inside seam away.

Cut off the seam of the cuff. We cut off the seams because they are bulky bits our sewing machines will not want to deal with. I have known otherwise dependable sewing machines to go on strike and walk out of the house when asked to sew over blue jean seams.

Fold the bottom of the split leg to the top, inside out; even the top line if necessary.

Sew the sides together, top to bottom; don't worry if one side is wider than the other -- that just makes it more basket-like. Fold down a half inch along the top to make a hem and sew that.

Cut two denim strips about 2 1/2 inches wide by 27 inches long.

I sewed a line of stitching 1/4 inch away from each edge of the strips; these will be the handles, and I wanted to be able to stop the raw edges of the denim from raveling. Certainly I could have made the strips wider, turned the edges under and made proper hems on all sides, but my cheapie sewing machine hasn't that much power, I haven't that much patience, and we're talking grocery bags here, not red carpet accessories.

Attach the handles to the bag, giving them five inches of attachment for strength. I tested the prototype with a full large box of doggie treats, a small sack of apples, a box of tea, some canned goods from the pantry -- and the handles held, at that point secured only by four dressmaker's pins. Sewn onto the body of the bag, the handles could easily safely carry a watermelon.

I made four of the bags in an afternoon. They will take the place of six to eight paper grocery bags easily; probably take the place of ten or twelve plastic bags.