Free Lunch Bag Sewing Pattern
Back-to-school season is upon us, and that means packing lunches daily begins again for many people! Even if you aren’t packing lunches for kiddos heading to school, you may be making lunches to take to the office, the park, or just a busy day out. Today, we will be sewing a reusable lunch bag, inspired by the classic brown paper lunch sack. This traditional lunch bag is getting a modern glow-up by making it a bit bigger, totally reusable, and adding a pocket! That means you can use your favorite colors or prints, personalize it, and use it again and again! This free lunch bag sewing pattern is a quick sew, and beginner friendly.
Let’s sew a reusable lunch bag!
Supplies
For the main fabric of the lunch bag, 100% cotton, linen, or lightweight canvas is recommended. If you choose a heavier fabric, the rolled top and Velcro may not work well. You can modify the pattern to have a different closure if you prefer heavier fabrics.
For the lining, 100% cotton is used in this tutorial, but we are also huge fans of Wazoodle’s specialty certified food-safe PUL. Check it out here! This fabric is a favorite for our reusable sandwich and snack bags, and using it as the lining of your lunch bag will mean that the inside of your bag will be food safe, water resistant and still washable. Win-win!
You Need:
Cotton Fabric- 3/8 Yards main, 3/8 yards lining
1″ wide Hook and Loop (Velcro) – approximately three inches long
Optional: Lightweight Interfacing
Needle, coordinating thread, scissors, washable pen or tailor’s chalk, pins or clips
Cutting Instructions
All cutting dimensions are given in Length x Width
Cut one main front, one main back, one lining front, one lining back, optionally cut one interfacing front and back:
11.5″ x 7.5″
Cut two main sides, two lining sides, optionally cut two interfacing sides:
11.5″ x 6.5″
Cut one main base, one lining base, optionally cut one interfacing base:
6.5″ x 7.5″
Cut one main pocket, and one lining pocket:
7″ x 7.5″
Preparation
Cut all pieces. If using interfacing, fuse iron-on interfacing to the wrong side of the main bag pieces.
This free lunch bag sewing pattern gives a perfect opportunity for customization! Add an initial, monogram, or word using the Apple Alphabet Appliqué pattern for a special touch! Add any kind of appliqué or special detail before continuing.
Sewing the pocket
The seam allowance for this pattern is 3/8″ unless otherwise noted.
Place the main and lining pocket pieces right sides together. Pin/clip the top edges together. Sew the top edge.
Turn the pocket right side out and press. For a fun pop of color make a faux piping look: trim away all but 1/8″ of the seam allowance before turning. Then, turn right side out but press the seam allowance up away from the main. The lining fabric will show a bit at the top. The lining will end up a bit shorter than the main, but you can simply trim the bottom of the main to match.
Place the pocket on either the front or the back main piece- whichever you prefer. Align the bottom and side edges. Baste the bottom and sides of the pocket to the main.
Sewing the Reusable Lunch Bag
The construction method used in this tutorial finishes the project with beautiful squared corners. It is recommended that you read through the steps first, and if you have never used this method before or if you are a beginner sewist, you may want to practice on scraps first. While the steps show sewing the bag main first, you might want to sew your bag lining first (steps are the same) so that as you are learning the method any mistakes are on the lining which will then be hidden inside the bag.
On the wrong side of the front, back, and side bag pieces, make a mark 3/8″ from the bottom corners. You will have a mark on the bottom edge and side edge of each corner, 3/8″ from the corner point. Repeat with all four corners of the bag base.
Lay the base right side up. Lay one side piece right side down on it. Align the bottom edge of the side piece with the side edge of the base piece. Pin/clip.
Sew, but start and stop your stitch line 3/8″ from the corners. Use the marks made in the previous step as a guide. Do not sew the 3/8″ at the beginning and end of the stitch line.
After sewing, open the side piece away from the base, and repeat to attach the other side piece to the other side of the base. Then lay right side up with the seam allowance finger pressed toward the side pieces.
Lay the front piece right sides together on the base, aligning the bottom edge of the front to the front edge of the base.
The ends of the front piece will extend past the seam of the base/side. This is fine! Your base/side seam allowance is pressed toward the sides, so if you look under the base/side seam, you will see that the end of the base and the end of the front piece actually are aligned.
Pin/clip. Sew, stopping and starting 3/8″ from the ends of the front piece. DO NOT sew all the way to the ends. You will start/stop at the marks you made, as in the previous step.
Repeat with the back piece. Lay the bag right side up with the front, back, and sides all flipped away from the base.
CONSTRUCTING THE CORNERS
Next you will sew the four corners. Begin with one side edge of the front piece, and the neighboring side edge of one side piece. Flip the front piece right sides together onto one of the side pieces. Pin/clip down the matching sides, stopping an inch before you reach the bottom corner.
Place a pin (not clip) through the two pieces right at your 3/8″ marking. The bag base will fold in on itself, clearing the corner for the front and back to meet at the 3/8″ mark.
Sew from the top edge of the bag, down to the 3/8″ mark. You will not sew the bottom 3/8″ of the seam. The seam line will finish exactly where your previous seam lines finished. This will leave you with a perfect corner. No seam should extend into the 3/8″ corner. (In the photo above, the green stitch line is from basting the pocket on. The pink stitch line shows the finished construction where the points meet.) Make sure the base stays pinched out of the way as you sew, so that it doesn’t get caught in the seam at the bottom.
Repeat to join the other three corners. Repeat all steps with the lining. If you started with the lining, repeat all steps with the main.
Turn the bag main right side out. Flatten so that the front and back are touching, and the sides are creased inward. Press well. This will help your bag have a nice shape when it is finished. Repeat with the lining, but have the lining wrong side out when you press, so that the creases are the correct direction on the finished bag.
NOTE:
The following steps will instruct how to make the roll top secured with Velcro. If you are using a very thick fabric like vinyl or heavy canvas, or if you are using heavy/stiff interfacing, your bag will not roll nicely and the Velcro may not be enough to secure it. In this case, you may want to modify the pattern to a single fold down with a loop and a button. To do this, skip the Velcro steps, and on the back side of the top edge baste an elastic loop. Decide how far down you want it to fold over the front, measure and mark, and on the front side sew a button. This way your bag will only have to fold once and not roll over twice.
Choose what side of the bag you want the top to roll towards: the front or the back. Whichever side you want the roll to finish on, lay the OPPOSITE side right side up. Measure 1/2″ down from the top edge and pin one side of the Velcro to the bag. Sew in place. Do not use adhesive Velcro, sew it on for security. To repeat: if you want the top of the bag to roll to the FRONT you need to sew this piece of Velcro to the BACK.
Flip the bag over. Measure 3.5″ down from the top edge and draw a line. Align the bottom edge of the second Velcro piece to this line. Sew in place. The roll will go towards this side when finished.
Assembling the bag
Turn the bag main wrong side out and the bag lining right side out. Insert the lining into the main right sides together, and pin around the top edge. Sew, leaving a 4″ gap on one side to turn through.
Turn the bag right side out. Push the lining down into the main. Press the top seam well. Press the seam allowance of the opening in and pin shut.
Topstitch around the entire top edge of the bag. This will close the opening. Press the bag one more time to get the sides creasing in nicely.
You are done!!
Once you finish your reusable lunch bag, you may want to make some reusable snack and sandwich bags to use inside it. Our FREE snack and sandwich bag tutorial will teach you how to make these awesome little bags!
I hope you enjoyed this free lunch bag sewing pattern! If you make one we would love to see! Tag us on Instagram at @booandlupatterns or share with us in our Facebook group! If you have questions when sewing this pattern our Facebook group is a perfect place to get support!
