DIY Recycled Tote Bag using plastic bags 

I work in a plastic bag factory. A quick tip I can offer. WIndex on a rag, ammonia, or rubbing alcohol will remove any print you want to remove. You can also cut out a mosaic of bits of colored bags and lay them on then iron with parchment paper to make a unique pattern. Plastic has grain like wood (runs in one direction) generally running from top (handles) to bottom (bottom seal) and if you alternate your panels at the start in your layers. Your Tote will have a stronger body.

great video! Two suggestions, first, when stitching the seams, I would adjust your stitch length to 3, any smaller and you will run the risk of perforating the plastic, it will rip easier under stress. Second, to add strength to the seams, after sewing together I would put back between parchment and fuse (iron) the seams on the outside edge of the stitching for added strength and to help prevent losing your seam line.

Wonderful idea. Sew the bottom and sides first. Then attach front and back.. Much easier to attach that way.

I love your simple approach here - and one thing I might add is some sort of tape sewn all along the seams (especially on the bottom). You could use scrap fabric or purchased bias tape for some fun contrast and extra strength.

Also - after you iron it the first time, lift, flip over, and iron again; as you iron, the plastic actually shrinks and this will take care of any air bubbles.

Awesome video! Quick bonus tip for the comment section, take your left over cuts and cut then into flat strips/sections. Sandwich them in the large panels to maximize the recycled materials, as it incorporates the waste product back into the finished project

anyone else here separating their plastic bags (ones with holes and ones w/o holes?)? I use the ones without holes for vital liners in bathroom. The ones with holes wind up "donated" to the recycling bin at Target/grocery store, etc. So this would be a great repurposing of those holely bags! I love the comments section talking about grain of plastic, incorporating the scraps to reinforce, using windex to clean off unwanted print, etc. I can see making this in stages (collecting bags, cutting bags, melting bag panels, cutting panels, then assembly). A great project to do enmasse with a group at a maker site....Thanks for reminding me of this project DIY with Denise. Also, maybe make sure to do the ironing in a well ventilated area. That safety tip would be my addition to the thread. looks like she uses a blanketstitch with some reinforcement knot every 5 stitches at 20:35

Very cute. Little tip, I would sew the handles first and then sew them onto the front and back panels.

Have fabric tote bags that I need to repair and this gave me an idea to reinforce the straps by sewing strips of (multilayered and ironed) plastic bags at the stress points. Thank you for sharing.

You did such a great job explaining how to do the project. Seriously clear and concise you should do more videos.

I think hand sewing with a blanket stitch would be nice as well.

I love this idea!!! Sometimes I work with summer groups of kids (all ages) this would be a great project to do with them. And i love all the additional helpful tips everyone posted. Will definitely use them. Thank you!!

Thanks for this video, I have so many bags saved now I know what to do with some of them. I also save the bags from the 20lb bags of bird seed I buy. I think those will be great to use as they are very sturdy.

Super excited for this. I need to repair some totes I purchased some shopping since we need to bring our own bags. I was going to heat bond some tyvek to my bags. But now I think I'll use this method but just iron the plastic on to the bag instead of sewing. Since I'd have to hand sew. I'm also thinking this will be perfect for reinforcing the handle area

This is an awesome idea to use up all those shopping bags that pile just up!

Thanks for sharing. Never thought of knotting the running stitch when hand sewing! Great idea!

So cool! One question though: why separate the bags' front and back sides if you end up ironing them together anyway?

A rotary cutter and long ruler would speed this up. And I don’t cut the sides unless I want to shuffle the colors, I jut iron the two layers together, then trim the sides after ironing. Save your scraps of plastic when cutting out your bag and use them in the next bag

Thanks again for sharing this ❣️ 💯

How is the tote bag holding up? It’s so cute!

It is rainy in Los Angeles, CA because of the storm. Have some light weight but outdated wind breakers, many baseball caps and clothing of that sort. Just wonder if people recycling and converting them into rain ponchos using plastic bags, hot iron, hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, and parchment papers. I believe that it can be quite easy, creative, and practical.

If you attach the bottom before your final side seam is so much easier

What a fantastic ideax

Nice video! I thought about making canvas bags but now I'm going to use plastic bags. Thanks!

Bonjour Madame c'est magnifique ce que vous faites ,je ne comprends pas l'anglais mais je trouve une idée géniale.merci

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing your idea.

I think I would use pretty duck tape to cover the threads.....lol

That was an informative and fun video to watch. I currently make leather wallets and card holders, but can't wait to see one in recycled plastic . Happy belated Earth Day to you. Thanks.

To make it neater, turn it or bind the edges with strips of fabric.

When making the handles, why not fold them and then iron them to fuse the layers together.

Thank you so much Denise, I really really enjoyed watching you creating this amazing tote bag, from recycled plastic bag’s. Great idea, and I’ve subscribed and given you a thumb’s up too. Please stay safe and well too

Cool video!

I make the recycled bags out of fabric. Would love the make from recycled plastic bags.

Very interesting and so clever 🙂

Wow, so schön ❤️👍 . Nun sammle ich Kaffeetüten und werde versuchen , auch so eine schöne Tasche zu nähen . Dankeschön ❤️.

Good idea. Thank you

That was my idea 80's 💡 I nade the first carterita. two brothers remade my stencil and show the one I made in puerto rico.

Gracias por compartir

Good idea

So was there a test drive for these totes to see how well the handle??Great job putting the tote together :)

Very good 😊

Gracias por la clase bendiciones

It would be easier to stitch if you used a Teflon foot

What cotton did you use to stitch with?

Great bag! But next time you make one, don't forget to seal the plastic, especially on the top edges after you cut it.

Thankyou and I willl try it out. Also can we use these chips wrapping (shiny) papers along with plastic ..

I'm going to make this!

Sewing the sides to the bottom first then sewing sides would be easier.

Love this idea and will definitely try. Thank you for showing the hand stitch method too! Can this be done (or has anyone tried) with food packaging plastic covers?

Are you using a zigzag stitch?

Just wondering.... If you have one layer of thin cotton inbetween the layers, would it not strengthen everything? (Plastic on both sides, so it would be easier to wash...(dry off...)) And the outside edges, why not strengthen them with melting them even more? (A thin extra layer with more plastic?)

Браво

❤❤❤❤❤❤

Great idea! I just have one question what if you then turned the tote inside out at the end? Wouldn't that be a more polished look with then the stitching on the inside of the tote? I just wish I knew about this when plastic bags were still free!🤣😜🥰

It's a great idea, and well done!

Intresting, if you add aluminium foil between layers, will it be like thermo bag?

Could you use a serger machine to sew all the sides together instead for more reinforcement?

Can you use any kind of plastic bag or does it have to be a particular type? Thanks!

Your machine has a “free arm”. Slide the nose off the front of the machine and then the bag can slid around the smaller arm of the bed.

I think I could use the serger to make the seams on this. If hand sewing, using a thimble will be a tremendous help - I simply cannot hand sew without one. I poke the end of my finger every time.

I would cut the sides first and then the bottom and top

It would be good to stiffen the bottom of the bag with a rectangle of cardboard.

If I make one I'll put the print on the middle

So many great comments

🥰🥰😘

Hacen falta muchas carteras asíy otros diseños e ideas tambien coasters mat para poner los platos con las comidas en la mesa. Muchas cosas.....capas para caminar bajo la lluvia personalization o costomizados se me olvdo como se dice en español. Hecho a la medida orden hecha a la medida

How much weight do these bags hold?

Great idea! What kind of sewing machine needle do you use???

Does it stink while you iron it?

Which paper is this ? The brown one

Can i skip the stitching and just press them too together?

La puntada a mano es mejor que version la que hacen las mismas costuras como se cosen las carteras de piel o de cuero trata de hacer esas puntadas.

Great video/tutorial. Music, however, is rather annoying.

Could you iron more pieces to make thicker

Which stitch did you use? I must have missed it.

What temp is the iron

what if the sewing machine you have dont zigzag

So you destroyed 12 new plastic bags?

My bags melted What did I do wrong

Anyone else's shrink? I lost about 2.5 inches is this normal?

Your scissor is too tiny

Hello Denise. A couple of us are trying this project. We are having so much trouble getting the bags pressed. We have tried multiple settings on the iron. With a towel on top of the parchment paper and without. But our bags keep shriveling to the point that they are not usable. Can anyone help us to know what we're doing wrong? Do we need a newer iron? A heat gun instead?

Такчто все со мной можно не знаться. А гештальт с девственностью в России я не знаю как закрыть. Мне пить нельзя, по Пьяне не получится. Все. Как у большинства наверное в России. Да и мы все в инете. Такчто.

So you turned 12 reusable bags into 1 bag .... what?

ممكن تترجمي الفيديوهات انا مصريه ومش فاهمه وانا بحب اصنع اشياء كثيره بالاكياس❤