How to Sew a Fresh Cut Flower Bag for the Farmers Market

Part 2 of the Summer Bag Series

Welcome back to Part 2 of my summer bag series! Today I'm sharing something I am genuinely so excited about. We're making a bag for flowers.

You know that moment at the farmers market when you spot the most beautiful bouquet and you think - I would love to take those home - but you have no way to carry them without crushing them? That's me, every single weekend. My tote is already stuffed with a lot of fruits and veggies and there's nowhere safe to put a bunch of stems. So I always end up walking past and being a little sad about it.

This fresh cut flowers tote is the solution. This holder is open at the bottom, the stems can stick out as far as they go and the flowers lay open at the top. It has two handles and tie closures so you can carry any bouquet carefully. And the best thing, it is a sewing project that sews up fast. You don’t need a pattern and it's honestly one of the loveliest things I've made recently.

If you missed Part 1 of the summer bag series, go check out the beach towel zipper pouch. It's also a great quick sewing project you can use this summer or gift to a friend.

Before we get started, here's your materials list. Nothing fancy here. It is a stash-friendly project.

• Outer fabric: I used a canvas blend (polyester, cotton, rayon, and linen). You want something with a bit of body so the bag holds its shape.
• Optional lining fabric: I used a thick lining similar to what you'd use for Roman shades. I really recommend it. It makes the bag more substantial without losing flexibility.
• Cotton belting or twill tape for the handles. I cut two pieces at 34 inches each.
• Cotton twill tape or ribbon for the tie closures. I cut four pieces at 20 inches each. If you use ribbon, put a dab of fabric glue on the ends to prevent fraying.
• Tools: Scissors, pins or clips, a measuring tape, a fabric marker (I used a heat-erasable pen throughout this whole project and it made everything so much easier) and a hot iron (optional but honestly very helpful)

Start by cutting a square of your outer fabric at 28 inches by 28 inches. Once that's done, give it a good press and use it as your template to cut your lining piece to the same size.

Set the lining aside for now. We're starting with the outer fabric.

Fold your square in half diagonally to make a triangle, matching the cut edges. Take it to your iron and press along the folded middle seam. You'll use this center line as a reference point later, so a nice crisp press is worth it here.

This is the detail that makes this bag work. We're cutting a 4-inch hole near the bottom edge so your flower stems can poke through.

Here's how I mark and cut this curve: Fold the square fabric piece into a triangle first and press the crease. Then, I take a measuring tape, the kind with a small hole at the end, and put my stiletto tool through that hole to keep it in place right at the tip of the triangle, on the fold. I now use the stiletto as a pivot point to mark a semicircle with my heat-erasable fabric marking pen on the fabric. This pen marks give you clear, accurate marks to cut along, and once you're done the marks can be erased with your iron.

An then, when you've drawn your semicircle, cut along that line. You can just scrap that little cut-off.

Now it is time to mark how long the bag is going to be. I went with 24 inches, but you can adjust this up or down depending on how big you want the finished bag. Hold your measuring tape at the edge of the stem hole you just mark and cut at 24 inches, in a semicircle pattern.

Once you have your shape cut out, open the fabric up and take a look. At this point you can leave it as-is for a larger bag, or size it down a little. I decided to size mine down slightly. Here's how:

• Open the piece flat. You'll be able to see your pressed center line clearly.

• Fold one side in to meet the center line, clip the edges, and trim the excess fabric. It doesn't need to be an exact science, you can just eyeball it. If you're not confident doing it freehand, press a crease at your fold line first so you have something to cut along.

Once you're happy with the shape, use this outer piece as your template to cut the lining to match. Give the outer piece a good press to remove the old center crease before tracing.

First, cut the lining piece the same size as the outer piece (using the outer piece as the template).

Place your outer fabric and lining right sides together and pin or clip all the way around. I love using sewing clips for this. They grip without distorting the fabric the way pins sometimes can on thicker materials

Take the two pieces to your machine and sew all the way around, but leave a 4–6 inch gap along one of the straight edges so you can turn the main bag piece right-side out. Make sure to back-stitch at either end of that gap. You'll be pulling on the fabric to turn it and you want this seam to stay closed.

Once the seam is sewn, gently turn the whole thing right-side out through the turning gap. Take your time here. Go slowly and ease the fabric through rather than yanking.

Once it's turned, use a seam roller or your fingers to push the seams out nice and crisp, then press everything flat with your hot iron.

Now close that turning gap and finish the edges. You can close the gap with an invisible hand stitch if you prefer, but I top-stitched the entire bag. It closes the gap and adds a clean, polished finish at the same time.

Use a straight stitch and sew all the way around the perimeter of the bag.

Now for the handles. I cut two pieces of cotton belting, 34 inches long each.

The bag is folded in half lengthwise. Find the center of the long curved edge and mark it. Do the same for the short curved edge. To position the handles, grab one strip of belting and some long flower pins. Because the heavier part of your flowers will be sitting at the stem end of the bag, angle one edge of the belting slightly toward that end for better balance. Space the two edges of the belting about 8 inches apart, pin them in place, then hold the bag up over your shoulder to check the feel of one handle before you commit.

Once one side is pinned, open the bag flat. Measure from the handle placement to the center line on each side to make sure they're even. Fold the bag back in half to check that both handles are lined up and mirroring each other. Adjust until they feel right.

For the tie closures: fold the end of each tie back about half an inch and pin it to the inside of the bag, right next to the handle. Do this for all four ties. Two on each side. When the bag is closed, the ties wrap around and knot, keeping everything secure.

Once all your handles and ties are pinned, take it to your machine:

For the handles:

• Sew a 2-inch box with an X through it at each attachment point for durability
• Run a stitch along the top that lines up with your top stitching

For the ties: Run a solid back-and-forth stitch over each one to hold it firmly.

That's it! Open it up and you should have a beautiful reusable flower bag that's ready for the farmers market. The stems go through the hole at the bottom, the blooms sit open at the top, and your whole bouquet rides home safely without a single crushed petal.

If you make one, please drop a comment and let me know how it turned out. You can also tag #madamsew so we can see! This is honestly such a fun, fast project and the impact is way bigger than the effort.

This is Part 2 of my Summer Bag Series. If you haven't already, go back and sew Part 1: the beach towel zipper pouch, and stay tuned for Part 3 which is going to be perfect for beach days.

Looking for more bag-making inspiration? Check out our XL tote bag tutorial, the quilted tote, or this fabric pie carrier — another purpose-built carrier that sews up just as quickly. And for more free sewing project ideas, visit our full free sewing patterns collection.

Leah
Blogging for Madam Sew

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Download and print this flower bag tutorial here