DIY Life

Here's a great idea for bedside storage. Might I add, it's a great idea because it's really easy and, assuming you already have a tote bag to spare, it's free! Makezine put me onto this idea from Five Whys: repurpose an old tote bag as an underbed pocket.

You will need:

1. An old cloth tote bag
2. Scissors
3. Needle and thread or (even better!) a sewing machine
   
4. About 10 minutes to an hour of your time, depending on your sewing skills

Cut the bag down each side, starting at the top end and ending about halfway down. Fold the cut flap down inside the bag. Fold and sew the cut side edges to prevent fraying. Next, lay the bag's handles and top half under your mattress, letting the newly-created pocket hang down the side of the bed. The weight of the mattress should keep the bag in place. Voila! A place for bookmarks, magazines and other odds and ends.

Want to make a tote bag? Anna can tell you how. Oh, and she knows how to make a bag from old jeans, too!

For those of us trying to get away from using paper bags and plastic bags at the grocery store, finding the perfect bag to make can be a little difficult. You want your bag to be sturdy enough to carry numerous items, yet be stylish and pretty.

Joan at Lazy Girl Designs has a pattern for making a tote bag in one hour with one yard of fabric. Her step by step instructions are easy to follow, and if you are in a hurry for a last minute birthday gift, the bag should be a big hit for people who are trying to get away from using store bags. Joan also has a link for instructions for making a smaller tote bag.

With Valentine's Day coming up, why not make a few pink and red tote bags? Or you can get a jump start on making Christmas gifts. Yeah, I know, who wants to think about Christmas when it is only January, but seriously, as much as I procrastinate, getting started on the bags now would mean I might actually have them done by the next Holiday!

Before you decide to throw away your old t-shirts, skirts and pillowcases, why not think about using them to line reusable shopping bags? Families.com gives us ideas on how to sew shopping bags from linens and jeans.

Using towels, jeans, pillowcases, old belts, and whatever else you want to recycle into the shopping bags will help to save the environment, simply because you won't be throwing away the endless supply of plastic bags that you come home with from each shopping excursion. Pure genius!! With a little sewing know-how, you can create as many shopping bags as you need, and maybe make some cool reusable bags to give your loved ones as Christmas gifts.

Have you heard of furoshiki? These traditional Japanese square cloths are getting a lot of attention lately, as a "green" alternative to wrapping paper and plastic shopping bags. Furoshiki means "bath spread" -- in feudal Japan, they were used to bundle and protect people's clothing at public bath houses, but over the years, their standard use has been to tie up any bundle you can imagine (they've even been used as baby carriers). The word is pronounced something like "f'-ROHSH-kee".

The term is a general one, not referring to any particular size or pattern, though most are around one-and-a-half to a little over two feet on a side. They usually have a printed pattern and a stitched hem around the edges. Unlike wrapping paper, which is often too creased and weak to effectively reuse, furoshiki can be part of a gift, and can be used again and again. They can also be tied up in various ways to make an "instant bag."

See much more about furoshiki, including diagrams, videos, alternatives, and places to shop, after the break!