Laundry Bag Tutorial & Pattern

I thought it would be fun to make a laundry bag that you would be proud to showcase in your room. you could customize the colors with your decor and have it sitting pretty in the corner. i wish i had one of these during my college dorm days!

what you’ ll need:

• 2/3 yard of 72” heavy weight (14 oz) cotton canvas (we used artist’s canvas from Blick)
• Fabric paint (we used Jaquard in Ruby Red and White, which we mixed with the red to create a shade of pink)
• Foam core cut into two irregular circles of different sizes
• Scissors
• Masking tape
• Foam brush
• Ruler
• Pins
• Sewing machine
• Iron

how to make it:

• Cut fabric into four pieces; 36”x23” rectangle, 13” square, and two 4 1/2”x13” strips

• On the large rectangle use a piece of masking tape to mark 5” from the top of the long edge (this space will be left un-stamped)

• Using sponge brush, coat the foam core circle with a generous amount of fabric paint.
Set stamp gently on canvas and press firmly. Paint coverage won’t be entirely even, but that’s part of the beauty of hand-stamping. If there’s an accidental drip of paint, just stamp over it!

• Cover the canvas with dots, reapplying the paint to the stamp each time. Leave room between dots for the second color and don’t stamp above the masking tape line (because this section of the canvas will later be folded over)

• Repeat with second color and allow to dry.

• Fold in half so that right (stamped) sides are facing, pin, and sew down the long edge.

• Cut a circle out of the 13” square of canvas. A good way to do this is to fold the canvas in half and then in half again. Holding the ruler so that the “0” lines up with the folded corner (the center of the circle), mark at 6” and continue moving the ruler to create an arched dotted line.

• Cut along this dotted line and unfold.

• For the handles, fold each of the 4 1/2”x13” strips of canvas in half length wise and pin together.

• Sew and then flip inside out, creating a tube.

• Iron tube flat, hem each end (folding once), and set aside.

• Sew the circle of canvas to the stamped fabric tube by pinning around the edge with right sides facing. Sew together with a 3/8” seam. It’s a little tricky to get the circle bottom to line up exactly with the tube of fabric and slight adjustments may need to be made.

• Flip right side out and fold top edge twice, creating a 2” folded edge at the top of the basket.

• Attach straps by pinning to the inside of the basket and sewing. Ends of straps should be about 2” apart and they should be sewn slightly under the folded edge so that stitching isn’t visible from the front.

so… this DIY is a little more complicated but you’ll get so much use out of it that it’s more than worth the effort! make one for yourself and let me know how it turns out. go laundry!