One day, while channeling through blogland, I happened across a site that mentioned making Homemade Fabric Sandwich Wraps. I thought, “hmmm…what a great idea! And – how convenient…I’m out of waxed bags AND baggies right now! These look easy enough. Gosh, I’ll even be able to make…like…5 or 6 of them. Cool!”
I made one…and it took me all evening.
Don’t let that discourage you. I just…well…I don’t know. I guess I just don’t sew enough to know how to do things quickly. My thread kept breaking, I couldn’t get the pattern quite straight, the thread was bunching up, I don’t know how to “close” something properly after turning right side out. *sigh*
Regardless of all that – I’m very pleased with the way it finished and couldn’t help but smile while turning it right-side-out. Not too shabby for my first go at it.
I followed the directions on the site mentioned above, but here are a few tips from me:
- Make your pattern on the white side of Christmas wrapping paper; it’s big enough and easy to pin through.
- Make sure you measure and cut rather precisely. I should have cut both pieces at the same time – as you can see, one is larger than the other. Be sure to line the corners up nice and straight. Mine is 15 x 15″.
- I used Ripstop for the food surface on the inside and a vintage fabric on the outside. The Ripstop can be wiped down easily as it is water repellent and easy to sew. It was $6.99 a yard at Joanne Fabrics – but be sure to print your 40% Q from the internet first – made it cheaper.
- When you iron your pieces after cutting, remember: when the ripstop says cool iron…it means cool iron. Lesson learned.
- When you insert the velcro, make sure the fastening part is “up” (away from the fabric print). You’ll see when you get that far.
I’m not sure how my husband is going to feel when he opens his lunch to a sandwich wrapped in rooster cloth, but I’m anxious for the reaction. I think he’ll appreciate helping to save the world, but would rather be doing it with Yankees White Sox fabric.
More Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.
Very neat!!! I like it alot! Lately I’ve been making wraps for my family – and by wraps I mean tortillas… do you think I would just elongate one side or just make the whole thing bigger, but keep the original shape? I’m not very crafty – but this looks like a project I could handle. Love your two blogs!
Hi Amy,
First off…thank you for reading! I’m glad you like the blogs.
Second – do you need the food wrap to open up completely? With this particular sandwich wrap, it’s made to open up as a small “place mat”…like for a picnic where you could lay a few veggies or something on the side. If you don’t need it to open up, you could just make a simple rectangle shape and then fold the bottom up as far as you need to and stitch the sides…just like a plastic baggie or a pouch. THAT would be much easier than that crazy shape of the pattern. Actually, having a bunch of re-usable “baggies” would seem more practical anyway…you could then use them for anything! If you make them, let me know how they turn out.
Hmm…I think I need to get out my machine and make some more now. LOL
Take care!