Turn a Shopping Bag into a Peg Bag

Make your own peg bag from an old fabric shopping bag.

This might sound really sad but one of my favourite things about summer is being able to get the washing dry outside! I really do think that line dried washing is just SO much better, it smells better and the impact on our electric bill and the environment is less. 

If you are going to use a washing line you need pegs, and if you have clothes pegs you need a peg bag.  We've never actually had a proper peg bag. When we first set up our home, way back when, we used my old school bag! That lasted a good 25 years, had many repairs and then finally fell apart completely a year ago so I bunged our pegs into a fabric shopping bag temporarily. 

When the good weather arrived this year I realised just how awkward this shopping bag is for pegs, If you have the bag on your shoulder it's difficult to keep reaching in for pegs and if you only have one handle on your shoulder and the other dangling the bag can slip off.

When i finally got round to fixing the issue it only took about 20 minutes so I thought I'd share it here. If you need a peg bag in a hurry and have a reusable shopping bag to spare (if you're anything like us you have loads) then this is for you!

Turn the bag inside out and undo the side seams of the bag about 17cm from the top on both sides. The bag I used had the top hem turned over and top stitched after the side seams so I just left the top hem in place and undid the seam from just underneath. 

Cut through the top layer only about 15cm from the top edge.

Make a hem on each raw edge by folding then edge over twice, pin and then stitch.

Pin the side seams together above and below the place you cut but don't sew that yet.

Turn the bag over and pinch up the excess fabric on the back and pin together, then stitch making a giant pin tuck.

Sew the side seams back up.

Turn the bag right side out and then stitch the bag closed all the way across right at the top by the handles. (do turn it out first, or your handles will be stuck inside - don't ask me how I know!!) 

The last thing I did was stitch a box about 5cm (2") long with a cross though it at either end of the gap created, just to strengthen it. I guess this is optional, so you could miss it out if you are in a real hurry. 

Ta Dah! 

MUCH better. This really is just later that same day, I'm wearing the same top! 

That's it, a completely free peg bag that took 20 minutes to put together. 

This bag was a gift from my sister in law, I think it is something to do with her WI group. You could use any old reusable shopping bag, maybe one advertising something. They seem to give them out a lot at university open days! I like the fact I've used one that is a bit more special. It's been handprinted and was a gift. It was just one of many shopping bags in the boot of my car, now it's being used more than ever. 

Do you have a place where you can hang the washing out? What do you keep your pegs in?

I’ll be sharing this idea at these link ups