Reusable lunch bag, strike one

I've been meaning to come up with a crafty and reusable alternative to the plastic grocery bags I usually use to carry my lunch to work. I had been keeping this project from design*sponge in the back of my mind, in the event that I happened upon some gorgeous Mexican oilcloth in a store. Then the other day I came across this tutorial for fusing plastic bags together to create a durable material to use for sewing projects. Since, unlike oilcloth, I have tons of plastic bags at the ready (also unlike oilcloth, they're free), I decided to try it out and make a lunch bag.


I can't say I'm totally pleased with the final product, but not deterred from trying it again. For one thing, I need to fuse larger pieces together, as this bag is not quite big enough to transport tupperware containers (though just fine for a sandwich and can of seltzer).


More importantly though, the way the plastic wrinkles, coupled with the largely white background, make me think of diapers--which is not the look I was going for.



I had been deterred from using more colorful bags, as according to the tutorial, the ink will run. But if I layer it with clear plastic bags, then maybe it will be safe, and less diaper-like. On the plus side, I can say that the fused plastic feels sturdy. I will be coming back to this one again, hopefully with more positive results to report.