Vintage linen bread bag (F&T 2020 Q1 Contest Entry)

Fiber & Textile Completed Projects
#1

I wanted to enter Mistress Jennie’s contest as soon as I saw it, but I didn’t have any good ideas about what to sew to replace something wasteful or ecologically unsound in our house. We already use cloth shopping bags, beeswax wraps, etc. But then a Pinterest came to the rescue, by offering an article about how much better linen sacks were for keeping bread fresh than plastic bags. That’s certainly a some plastic I’ve been wanting to get rid of, so it was a perfect project.

Linen isn’t something lacking in my stash - fine, heavy, new, vintage, antique, I love all kinds of linen.

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So I decided to use this small embroidered tablecloth. A quarter of it looks like it would be about the right size. And although it has a few little stains and tiny holes, that isn’t a problem for a utilitarian item like this.

The wide hand-stitched hem will make a perfect channel for the draw strings, so I stitched four eyelets to feed the cord in and out through.

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Turning it into a bag was easy - I just sewed a French seam around the two sides and turned it right side out again. I threaded tapes through the eyelets and it’s done.

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I like to make drawstring bags with two loops pulling from opposite directions.

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I don’t know yet if I can believe Pinterest’s promises that the linen bag will keep my bread better than plastic, but I know it’ll be less wasteful, and it certainly feels better.

21 Likes
Fiber & Textile Challenge - Spring Greening **CLOSED**
Fiber & Textile Challenge - Spring Greening **CLOSED**
#2

Seems that not only are you saving the use of plastic for bread storage but also a lovely vintage piece that might otherwise be discarded! What a great idea…let us know if it works, although, in my house, the bread would not be in the bag long enough to even get slightly stale!

Wonderful post!

2 Likes
#3

This is such a gorgeous eco-solution. The embroidery is lovely. I love the way it looks, the reuse and the waste reduction.

Please update us on the effectiveness! I have bought some long loaf tins to start making bread when my boys become food inhalers but I haven’t figure out how I will store the bread (even if it’s only two days!)

1 Like
#4

This is just lovely. The hand bound eyelet? You are so extra-extra!

#5

That’s really pretty!

#6

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I really like this Wulf! Stickin it to the plastic man! I have a printed linen table cloth I’ve not been able to part with which would be prime reuse material (several holes).

:shamrock: :metal: :four_leaf_clover:

1 Like
#7

Excellent green project. I agree - definitely report back on how it works!

#8

This is so lovely!

#9

Inspiring! It came out so well. I must do this myself.

#10

What a fantastic idea. Can’t wait to hear how it works. My husband worked as a bread baker for a while when we were dating, and he swore by wrapping it in cotton or linen tea towels.

#11

Oh, I LOVE this! I’m so glad I didn’t miss it entirely. TheMisterT has been making bread lately, so I think I will have to hop on this right away. Luckily, I have a few linen options in my own stash!

How is it working?

#12

Good to know. So far (three days) so good. But the half-loaf in the photo is one of those heavy, moist sourdough breads that keep a long time anyway. I’ll need to test it on ciabatta to know for sure.

1 Like
#13

Oh this is so nice. And you have really honoured the original fabric.

#14

Hey Friends! There’s just a few more hours left to vote in this challenge. You can vote in the Fiber & Textile Spring Greening Challenge.

And while you’re at it, why not stop by and vote in the Decorative & Functional Spring Cleaning with a Twist Challenge which closes tomorrow, and the Art Miniaturize My Craft Challenge, which closes Tuesday.**

#15

A final update on the linen bread bag: it may be more aesthetically pleasant and certainly less wasteful, but I don’t find it works as well as a plastic bag. It’s true that the bread doesn’t go mouldy as fast, but it doesn’t matter because it dries out and becomes inedible anyway. I tried it yesterday with home-baked bread (and I use a no-knead method that gives a very moist loaf) and it was already dry and crusty for breakfast this morning. :unamused: So back to plastic, I’m afraid.

#16

Oh that’s so sad :disappointed: thanks for letting us know

#17

Thanks for the sad update…