I basically live under a fashion rock, so I was until recently unaware of the buzz around designer Anya Hindmarch's wildly popular new tote, the "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" (cloth) bag. Actually, "buzz" is likely too soft a term; people are lining up for these bags like I did for Cabbage Patch Dolls in November 1983.
There's something ironic about people waiting in line for hours to buy a canvas tote for $15 and then turning around and selling it for over $100 (yep, it's true- check eBay if you don't believe me) when the bag itself is making an environmental statement. After all, isn't the idea that by using canvas, rather than plastic, bags, people will curb environmentally degrading, materialistic habits? Sigh. The bright side is that people may actually stop using so many plastic bags now, I guess. And because I am eternally hopeful, I present to you several tote bag pattern links. In the amount of time you would spend waiting in line for one of the I'm Not A Plastic Bags, you can make your own:
1. Singlet style tote bag, link via CRAFT.
2. Knitted bag folds up onto itself, link via CRAFT.
3. Really simple sewn tote bag.
4. Fancier sewn tote bag.
5. Easy oilcloth tote bag. You can always buy oilcloth from one of my favorite websites, Mexican Sugar Skull, if you don't know where else to get it.
6. There's a nice photo tutorial for this sewn tote bag.
7. A pattern for a cute crocheted and felted tote bag can be found here.
8. Don't sew, crochet or knit and don't want to pay $100 or wait in line for something that's not a plastic bag? Here are some cute and inexpensive options I found on Etsy:
1. Little Odd Forest Shopping Bag
2. Tree Hugger Tote
3. Vintage Farm Scene Tote
4. Big Brown Bag
5. Blue String bag
No comments:
Post a Comment