A woven feed sack can make a remarkably serviceable shopping bag, provided its weak places are treated with some care. The material is light, water-shedding, and resistant to ordinary scuffs, but it does not behave like canvas. It can slip under the presser foot, fray into loose plastic threads when cut, and pull apart at a seam if the stitching is too near the edge.
The soundest approach is simple: make a modestly sized tote, use the sack’s existing seams where they are useful, bind all newly cut edges, and spread the load of the handles across a broad patch of stronger cloth. A plain rectangular market tote is well suited to the material and leaves room for the printed panels to remain visible.
Photo by Roman Spiridonov on Unsplash.
Before you begin: choose and prepare the sack
Use only a sack that is clean, dry, and known to have held non-hazardous animal feed, grain, seed, or a similar dry product. Do not reuse sacks that contained chemicals, pesticides, fertilizer, medicines, or unknown substances. A strong-looking sack is not worth bringing into the home if its earlier contents cannot be identified.
Shake out all loose dust outdoors. Wash the sack in warm water with a little mild soap, then rinse it thoroughly. Do not rely on a washing machine: the rough woven surface and stiff seams can be hard on the drum, while the sack may shed loose fibres. Hang it to dry fully.
Most woven sacks arrive creased and stubbornly folded. Flatten one by laying it beneath a clean sheet of cardboard, a board, or a stack of books overnight. Avoid a hot iron. Woven polypropylene can distort, soften, or melt under direct heat. If a crease must be eased, use only a very low setting through a pressing cloth, test a hidden corner first, and keep the iron moving. In many cases, weight and time do a safer job.
Inspect the sack in good light. Reject sections with deep abrasion, punctures, brittle folds, or damaged printing that indicates the weave itself has worn thin. Small pinholes can be placed near the top allowance or covered by a patch; a weakened bottom panel is a reason to cut a smaller bag or choose another sack.
A simple finished size
This tutorial makes an open-top tote about 15 inches wide, 14 inches tall, and 4 inches deep. It is large enough for vegetables, jars, and dry goods without inviting an unmanageable load.
You will cut one main rectangle measuring 38 by 16 inches. Folded in half, it becomes the front and back of the bag. The extra width forms a boxed base.
If your sack is smaller, keep the same construction but reduce the measurements. What matters is leaving room for a top hem and choosing a width that allows the most attractive printed panel to sit on the front of the finished bag.
Materials and tools
- One clean woven feed sack, large enough for the main rectangle
- Polyester all-purpose thread, in a colour that is close to the sack or deliberately visible
- Medium-weight denim or canvas for handle reinforcement
- Two lengths of cotton webbing, sturdy belting, or folded fabric handles
- Binding tape or bias tape, about 2 1/2 yards
- A universal or sharp sewing machine needle; a size around 90/14 is a sensible starting point
- Sewing machine
- Scissors or a rotary cutter and cutting mat
- Ruler or tape measure
- Fabric clips, clothespins, or small binder clips
- Marking pencil, chalk, or removable tape
Pins make permanent holes in this material, so clips are kinder. If clips are unavailable, use a few pins only within the seam allowance.
Photo by tamaki kato on Unsplash.
Make the tote
1. Plan the printed panels
Lay the sack flat with its best printed face upward. Decide which part will become the front. Labels, animal illustrations, bold type, and colour blocks can all be used deliberately; a centred panel usually looks calmer than a partial one cut by accident.
Mark a 38-by-16-inch rectangle. If the sack has a strong factory seam along one edge, you may place that seam at the eventual bottom fold, provided it is sound and lies flat. Avoid placing an old seam at the top edge, where it can make hemming bulky.
Check the reverse side before cutting. A printed panel often does not line up exactly with the weave or with the opposite face, and a few moments of planning saves an awkwardly placed design.
2. Cut with a clean, straight edge
Cut the rectangle in one deliberate pass where possible. A rotary cutter gives a neat edge, though sharp scissors work well. Do not saw back and forth with dull blades; that encourages loose threads along the cut.
Fold the rectangle in half, right sides facing inward, so the piece measures 19 by 16 inches. The fold is the bottom of the bag. Clip the two side edges together.
3. Sew the side seams twice
Set the machine to a medium stitch length, roughly 3 to 3.5 mm. Very short stitches can perforate the plastic weave like a tear-off line; excessively long stitches leave a weak seam. Test the stitch on an offcut first. The thread should lie smooth without puckering or pulling loops to either side.
Sew each side seam with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Begin with a short backstitch, sew steadily, and backstitch again at the top. Keep the sack supported on the table rather than allowing its weight to drag against the needle.
Sew a second line of stitching about 1/8 inch inside the first seam, closer to the bag body. This double row is useful insurance at the side seams, which receive repeated strain when the tote is filled.
4. Box the lower corners
To give the tote a flat base, open one lower corner and pull it into a triangle. The side seam should run down the centre of the triangle, while the bottom fold meets it at right angles.
Measure 2 inches up from the point of the triangle and draw a line across it, perpendicular to the side seam. Clip the layers firmly. Sew along this line, backstitching at both ends. Repeat a second row of stitching just inside the first.
Trim the pointed corner, leaving about 1/2 inch beyond the sewn line. Repeat on the other lower corner. When the bag is turned right side out later, these seams create a base about 4 inches deep.
5. Bind the raw seam allowances
Raw cut edges are the chief weakness of a woven sack tote. Binding them keeps loose strands contained and protects the seam from rubbing against tins, root vegetables, and other contents.
Open the bag with the wrong side facing out. Apply binding tape over each side seam allowance and each boxed-corner seam. Enclose the raw edge within the tape and stitch close to both long edges of the binding. Work slowly over the thick intersections.
Bias tape is suitable, but a firm woven binding tape is often easier to control on this stiff material. If your machine balks at the corners, hand-turn the wheel for a few stitches rather than forcing the fabric through.
6. Finish the top edge
Turn the bag right side out. At the top opening, fold the raw edge inward by 1/2 inch and clip it. Fold inward another 1 inch, covering the first fold, and clip again. This double fold makes a clean, substantial rim.
Sew around the top edge close to the lower fold. Then sew a second row about 1/4 inch below the first. The two rows stiffen the opening and give the handle area a better foundation.
If the material resists folding, crease it with a fingernail, a blunt ruler, or the back of a spoon. Do not use heat to force a crisp crease.
Photo by Khang Nguyen on Unsplash.
Build handles that do not pull away
Handles need reinforcement because a sack’s weave can stretch or split where a narrow strap is attached. Denim or canvas patches distribute the pull across a larger area.
Cut four reinforcement rectangles, each about 3 by 5 inches. Place two patches inside the front of the bag and two inside the back, with each patch centred about 4 inches from its nearest side seam and sitting directly below the top hem. If the bag is smaller, adjust the spacing so the handles feel balanced in the hand.
For hand-held handles, cut two pieces of webbing or belting about 22 inches long. For shoulder-length handles, use 28 to 32 inches, depending on the wearer and the desired drop. If using fabric rather than webbing, fold and stitch it into firm straps before attaching it; a single layer of ordinary cotton is rarely comfortable under a full load.
Place the ends of one handle on the outside of the bag, aligned over the interior reinforcement patches. Let each end extend about 1 inch below the top hem. Stitch a rectangle around each handle end, then sew an X across the rectangle. This box-and-cross stitching spreads strain in several directions. Repeat for the other handle.
Check that the two handles are the same length before sewing the final cross stitches. A tote can still function with uneven handles, but it will always hang crookedly.
Final inspection and first use
Turn the bag inside out one last time and look for missed binding, thread nests, or seams that have not been backstitched. Trim thread tails close, but do not cut into the woven material. Place a few heavy books or pantry items inside and lift the bag by both handles. Watch the handle stitching and the upper corners for pulling. If a line of stitches begins to strain, add another row before putting the tote into regular service.
This bag is best for ordinary market loads rather than sharp tools, loose nails, or very heavy single items. Glass jars travel more safely when wrapped in a tea towel or placed upright, and damp produce should be dried or carried in a separate cloth bag. The woven sack itself resists water, but the stitching and reinforcement fabric may hold moisture.
Mistakes that shorten the life of the bag
Sewing too close to a cut edge
A narrow seam allowance can unravel or tear under a loaded bag. Leave at least 1/2 inch at structural seams, then bind the allowance instead of trimming it away.
Using cotton thread for every seam
Cotton thread has its place in many textile projects, but polyester thread generally tolerates the slick synthetic sack material and regular wet-dry use better. Use sound thread and replace an old, fuzzy spool.
Relying on the sack alone for handles
Stitching webbing directly to one layer of woven polypropylene may hold for a while, then pull through at the first awkward load. The interior denim or canvas patches are not decorative; they are the part that makes the handles dependable.
Overloading a very large tote
A bigger bag invites heavier shopping. If the sack is thin or the handles are short, make a medium tote and carry two loads rather than one punishing load. Durability comes as much from sensible use as from extra stitching.
Skipping the binding
A tote can be made quickly with plain seams, but the loose cut edges will gradually catch and fray. Bound seams take a little longer and make the inside easier to wipe clean, less likely to snag, and more pleasant to use.
A feed sack tote will show its working life: softened folds, small scuffs, and a little wear at the rim. These are not failures. With bound seams, reinforced handles, and an occasional repair before damage grows, it can remain a useful household bag for a long while.