Years ago Farmer John asked me to make him an apron to wear while processing chickens. I made him 3. I’m sure he loves me for that.

I chose to use feed sacks for the material for a few reasons. One reason being that I love the idea of repurposing material. Number two, they didn’t need to be fancy aprons – the chickens, nor Farmer John care. Number three: they are super simple to rinse off. And, four, the price was right.

Whenever I use feed sacks I find my biggest dilemma is how to get the slippery material to not slip while sewing. If you can figure that out, then this project will be a cinch.

The aprons require very few materials and basic sewing skills.

Required Items

• 2 feed sacks (same design)
• 2 30″ pieces of webbing
• 1 26″ piece of webbing
• thread & sewing machine
• scissors and/or rotary cutter

Preparing the Feed Sack

Rinse the feed sacks and let dry.

Cut off the bottom edge of one sack. You can discard that piece, you won’t need it. Then, cut up the middle of the back. The sack now opens to one flat piece of fabric to use for your apron.

Creating the Apron Shape

Find the middle of the front of your sack and fold the sack in half. Trim off about an inch from the side. Pin the sack together.

With a pen, make a mark at 7″ in from the side. Make another mark 10″ down from the top. To make the arm hole shape, I made a straight line a few inches long from the top. I also made a straight line a couple inches in from the side. Then free formed a curve, connecting the straight lines. Using a rotary cutter or scissors, cut along the pen line. Since the sack is folded in half, you should be cutting through both sides.

Open the sack and see the lovely apron shape.

Sewing the Top Section

Cut a few small slits along the curved section of the arm holes.

Fold over the arm hole edges 1/4″ – 1/2″.

Fold over the top edge 1/2″, then fold it over again.

Tuck both ends of your neck strap under the folded top edge. Then flip the strap up and pin in place.

Starting at the side of one arm hole, sew around the arm hole, along the top edge, and down around the other arm hole.

Making a Big Pocket

From the second feed sack, cut off the bottom and cut up the middle back just like the first sack.

I don’t have exact measurements on where to cut the sack for the pocket. It varies a bit depending on the design on the sack. But, it will typically be about 1/3 to 1/2 up from the bottom of the sack. I just pick an area that looks pleasing – like not through text or animal faces. Once you find your optimal pocket top, cut 3/4″ above it. You will now have a rectangular piece of fabric.

Fold over 3/4″ along the top edge of your pocket. Straight (or zig zag) stitch along the top edge.

Pin your rectangle pocket piece to the main apron.

Sewing the Bottom Section

Lay the rectangle pocket piece on top of the main apron. They are now acting as one fabric piece.

Fold over the remaining unsewn edges 1/2″, making sure the pocket edges are folded too. Fold the edges over again.

The bottom corners get quite thick due to the number of layers folded. I trim off a bit.

Fold the corners so they come together nicely and pin in place.

Tuck each side tie under the folded side edge. Then flip the side tie out and pin in place.

Starting at the top of a side, sew down the side, along the bottom, and up the other side.

And, Done!

The apron is now ready for all those sloppy chores.

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On my quest to find ways to use all the feed sacks, I came up with bags to grow herbs and greens.

Making them is very similar to sewing the tote bag. The differences are size and no handles.

This is a fairly easy sewing project. My biggest problem, as always, is using the feed sack as fabric. It is slippery and sometimes jams the needle in my sewing machine. Going slow seems to help.

CUTTING THE BAG FOR HEIGHT

Trim the top and bottom of the bag to 12″ high.

CUTTING THE WIDTH OF THE BAG

Using scissors, cut the back of the bag down the middle.

Fold the bag in half(ish), centering the front.

From the center line, measure over 14″ & cut.

ADDING EMBELLISHMENTS

These bags were meant to be placed in my kitchen window and/or front porch, so I wanted to add just a little something for a homey feel. I have quite the lace and ribbon stash, so I chose to use them for the added decor.

It is easiest to add the lace and ribbon while the bag is one flat piece of fabric. I prefer to sew on the pretty stuff prior to sewing the bag back together.

To hold the lace in place while sewing, I first used a bit of fabric glue. It wasn’t totally necessary, but, it did help.

I chose a medium width ribbon, so there was enough to fold over the top of the bag. This created a nice, finished look to the bag.

SEWING THE BAG BACK TOGETHER

Fold the bag in half, inside facing out. Sew along the open edge about 1/2″ in. I sew a double line for extra durability.

Arrange the bag, inside out, so the seam is in the middle of the back. This ensures that the design on the front of your bag is centered.

Sew along the bottom edge.

BOXED CORNERS

The boxed corners are tricky to figure out at first. But, once you figure out how to fold the bag, they’re a cinch.

First, fold/push the bottom of the bag at each side to create a corner. The corner you make lays flat, but don’t expect the rest of the bag to.

I prefer these herb bags to have a wide bottom, so I create a fairly large boxed corner. On each side of the pointy corner, measure and place a mark at 3.5″.

Draw a line connecting the marks.

Sew along the line. Again, I do a double stitch.

Trim off excess fabric.

Repeat on the other side.

Turn the bag so the pretty side is out.

A PEEK INSIDE THE BAG

When done, the inside of the bag should look similar to this:

THE BAG IS COMPLETE

FILLING THE BAG

I put about 2″ of gravel at the bottom of the bag to help with drainage.

Next, I added dirt & compost.

Finally, I added plants. I started plants from seed earlier in the season, so I used those in the bags. Some bags had herbs, some had lettuce & kale.

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If you have livestock, you have lots of feed bags. We use the empty bags in various ways, but when I saw a tote made from one, I knew I had to try to make one.

The first one was easy enough to make, but took me a bit to figure out everything – especially the boxed corners. The corners were really easy to make once I figured it out. I made the next bags fairly quickly. I used directions from both Fresh Eggs Daily & Community Chickens.

SIZING THE BAG

I didn’t use exact measurements to cut the feed sack. I cut off the top & bottom of the sack where I thought the tote bag would look best.

The way I cut the feed bag gave me one side with a nice design.

The back isn’t as cute. On the plus side, if you ever need to know the benefits or directions of the feed you will always have it with you.

BOXED CORNERS

I love the boxed corners & flat bottom. I’ve made bags before, but never with a flat bottom. It’s so much nicer for groceries.

I’m good with photos, not so good with written directions. But, I will attempt to explain the boxed corner:

Top Left: Fold the bottom of the bag to get a corner. Measure from the pointy corner up both sides the same distance – about 1″ – 2″. Mark the two spots & draw a line connecting the dots.
Top Right: Sew along the line. I came in a little and sewed a 2nd line.
Bottom Left: Trim off the excess
Bottom Right: Complete the steps again for the opposite corner. Then, turn the bag so the white side is facing in.

HANDLES

A few of my bags have handles made from cotton webbing. I love the way Fresh Eggs Daily attached the handles by tucking the handles under the fold at the top. I had never added handles using that method. I’m glad I tried it. The handles seem nice & secure and an actual part of the bag as opposed to feeling like the handle could pull off.

I didn’t have enough webbing to finish the last two bags, so I used scraps from the cut feed bags to make handles using directions from Community Chickens. I like carrying the bags with the webbing handles better than the feed bag scrap handles. But, I like the matchy-matchy look of the feed bag handles.

MAKING IT PRETTY

It’s an extra step, but I prefer the look of sewing lace or ribbon to the top edge.

I love this project. It was exactly what I like – easy, quick & no need to be perfect.

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