Zippered Snack Bag {Tutorial}

Even though my babies are still a little young for school, I have already started thinking about back to school plans. I know it will be a busy time of year, so I decided to knock out a project EARLY this year, so it would be done, done, done, and out of my mind.

While doing my scrapbusting last year, I decided to use some zippers and fabric I already had on hand to make reusable snack bags, perfect for back to school lunches.

These are medium sized bags, about 7x7, so they'll fit snacks, or even half a sandwich.

You'll need:

A zipper 

two squares of outer fabric (the width of the whole zipper tape)

two squares of lining fabric

sewing things

*I used rip-stop nylon for my lining so food wouldn't stick to it, but it would still be totally washable.

First, make a zipper sandwich. Place your lining, right side up on the table, then your zipper right side up, then your outer fabric right side down. 

Sew the three layers together, close to the zipper teeth.

When you flip the pieces over, you should have plenty of room to unzip your zipper. Make a zipper sandwich on the opposite side of the zipper, just as you did before. This will give you both sides of your bag.

Once your fabric is attached to your zipper, spread the fabrics out away from the zipper and topstitch along the edge. This will keep the fabric neat, and out of the zipper's way. 

Now, unzip your zipper halfway. DON'T forget this or you'll be angry later.

Now, flip your fabrics so that your outer layer is right sides together, and your lining is right sides together. 

Sew around the entire rectangle, leaving a small hole in the lining for turning later.

Once you've sewn your rectangle, pull the fabric through your open zipper (see, leaving it unzipped was important!). Before stuffing the lining back in, sew the hole shut that you left for turning.

Simple, quick, and best of all, cute and reusable! The kids can get these open themselves without the irritating sound of velcro! And if they get dirty, just throw them in the washing machine.

Now, I'll put them away and hope it's a long long time before I need them!!