These are very quick and easy to make and if you use 100% cotton fabric will help to keep your vegetables fresher as they can breathe and the cotton absorbs any excess moisture. I take mine to the farmers market to save on packaging.

Materials:

I found a lovely sage green cotton remnant, 150cm x 40cm for £1.50 which was enough to make 4 different sized bags (22 x 28 for carrots, parsnips; 20 x 50 for potatoes; 20 x 40 for celery, cucumbers; 24 x 28 for peppers, aubergines and courgettes). Think about what your requirements are, i.e how many you want to make and what sizes you need, and calculate the amount of material by adding on an allowance of 2.5cm to cover the side seams and 1.25 cm for the bottom seam. As you can see in the photograph I used a finished edge for the top of the bags, but if you need to add a top hem allow another 2.5 cm. I found it was fine to just pin the material together before stitching, but if your material is more slippery you might want to tack together first.

Method:

1. If you need to add a top hem, press under 1.25 cm along the top edge. Fold over and press again. Stitch the top hem.
2. Fold the fabric in half vertically with right sides together. Stitch down the side hem 1.25 cm from the edge until 1.25 cm from the bottom, keep the needle down at corner point, turn the material and stitch bottom seam.
3. Finish off by fastening thread ends securely, neatening raw edges (either with pinking shears or zig-zag stitich) and pressing seams open. Turn right side out. I attached a length of ribbon 4cm from the top to tie them closed, but you can just fold or use a rubber band.

Shopping bag

You can buy shopping bags in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours but the advantage of designing your own is that you can combine all the features that you like best. So rather than suggesting a pattern, I'm going to guide you through some of the possible choices and steps of creating your own design.

1. Brain storm

Get a clear picture of what you want to achieve. Are you designing it for a particular need? How does that affect the choice of fabric and construction? If you are planning on carrying heavy items do the handles and bottom need any special reinforcing? Do you want to carry it by hand, on your shoulder or across your body (experiment with different lengths to find the most comfortable)? Can it be open, or does it need a zip or flap?

In my case, I decided I wanted something with an extra-large capacity, an outer pocket, a inside zipped pocket and long enough handles to carry on my shoulder. I decided to have side panels for greater depth in order to increase the capacity without adding to the width and to line it (looks nicer and saves you the bother of neatly finishing off all the seam edges!). I wanted a hard-wearing fabric but it didn't need to be waterproof and it didn't need reinforcement as I was planning to use it for bulky rather than extra-heavy items.

2. Cutting out

Once you've decided on the dimensions of the bag and the length of handles, you can draw the pieces onto your chosen fabric and cut them out. For a standard shaped bag you will need two rectangles for the body and two strips for the handles (double the required finished width), remembering to allow an extra 1.25 cm for seam allowances. If you are lining it, decide where you want the lining to start and calculate the length you need, allowing an extra 1.25 cm for the top seam. If you don't want a standard rectangular shape, you could round the bottom corners using a plate as a guide. For my bag, I used a cross shaped pattern, as below. To make a deeper bag, adjust the D measurement, change the width by adjusting the W measurement, and the height by adjusting the H and S measurements (these should always be an equal length as they form the side seams of the bag).

If there's another style of bag you want to recreate, take its measurements, study how it's been constructed and experiment with creating a pattern, remembering to add in seam allowances. You could try making a prototype with scrap material first to iron out any problems.

3. Turn under the top edges

Turn under 1.25 cm, press, fold and press again then pin. If you are not lining the bag you can tack and stitch in place now.

4. Adding handles

To make handles, fold strip in half lengthways with right sides together, press and pin in place. Stitch the side seam then turn right side out. Turn in the raw end edges and press flat. Where to place them will depend on the width of your bag, experiment to see what works best. I placed mine 10 cms in from each side, and 4 cms below the top hem. Sew securely in place by stitching a square around the ends of the handles and then diagonally across.

If you are going to be carrying heavy items you could extend the handles all the way round the bag for added strength. Make sure the handles are in the same position for back and front, tack in place, then stitch along both edges of each handle.

5. Stitch body of bag

If you are adding any outside pockets, or reinforcement for the bottom, tack, then stitch them in place on the required side at this point.

For the standard shape, place right sides together and pin in place. Stitch 1.25 cm from the edges. For the cross pattern, pin adjacent sides with right sides together and tack to create the four side seams. Sew seams 1.25 cm from the edge. Press seams open and neaten all raw edges.

6. Add lining

Stitch the lining pieces together as for the body. Fold under 1.25cm of top edge, press, then slip stitch to body of bag at the point where you decided the lining should start (in my example 1.5 cm from top edge of bag). Turn the bag right side out and use with pride!

Another couple of bags made from fabric from the remnant bin - always a good place to look!