DIY Insulated Lunch Bag on the HD9

I recently acquired a ridiculous amount of insulative batting material (it’s ridiculous to me because I’ve never worked with it before, so any amount is a lot in my mind) as I was tasked with making some food pouches for my camping friends. While I’m more of the ramen noodle soup kinda camper, I was finally ready to tackle this project so I could use up more of this magical heat & cold insulative material! Enter: the classic lunch sack, insulative layer edition. I wanted a grab bag for quick day trips to the reservoir or a day hike and I love how it turned out 🙂

 

This is a great scrap busting project, so for those that have some odd remnant fabrics lying around in their sewing room, get creative! The finished bag dimensions are: 8” width, 5” depth, 12.5” height.

Fabric and Notions Required

What You’ll Need:

●      Main fabric

○      17”x28” piece

○      Consider a medium-heavy weight fabric to maintain some structure when bag is open

○      E.g., canvas, denim, twill

●      Lining fabric

○      16”x28” piece, cut into 2 pieces

○      Consider a waterproof fabric if you anticipate any leakage

●      Pellon 975 Insul-Fleece

○      16”x28” piece, cut into 2 pieces

○      Specialized batting (80% Polyester/20% Metalized Polypropylene), designed to insulate i.e., keep hot things hot and cold things cold

●      1” webbing (ready-made or make your own)

○      4” length, cut into 2 pieces

●      1 G-hook or Side release buckle that accommodates your webbing width

 

Note: In this tutorial, I am using a 1” metal G-hook, 1” cotton webbing, 100% cotton twill as my main fabric, and a repurposed 100% polyester blackout curtain as my lining fabric. My final bag sample in the pictures for this tutorial was 3.5” more narrow than intended, as my math was not cooperating when I cut out my pieces, so yours will be the appropriate size, I promise!

Instructions

Steps:

  1. Cut out your main, lining, and batting pieces.
    1. Note: the lining and batting pieces are 1” shorter than the main fabric pieces, as the top edges will get incorporated into the upper folded hem.

  1. Place your lining and batting pieces together and treat them as one layer going forward.
    1. Be sure that you place the metallic side of the batting to the wrong side of the lining fabric so that it will be facing toward the INSIDE of the bag. This way, the insulative properties of the batting are utilized i.e., food is kept warm or cold INSIDE the bag.
    2. Baste pieces together for ease going forward.

 

  1. Sew the sides and bottom edge of the main fabric pieces, right sides together, with a ½” seam allowance.
    1. Incorporate a 2” long webbing loop 1.75” down from the top edge on either side. See images below to show placement of the webbing loops placed on top of the fabric for clarity, but in actuality, sewn between the layers in the following image.
    2. Be sure to insert your G-hook or buckle pieces into the webbing loops before sewing them in place.

  1. Sew the sides and bottom edge of the lining+batting pieces, right sides together, with a ½” seam allowance.

  1. In both the main and lining+batting bags, cut a 2.5” square out of bottom corners to create a flat base.
    1. Pull the corner seams together and sew with a ½” seam allowance (see images below for clarification).

  1. Press side & bottom seams flat.
  2. Press the top edge of the main bag ½” to the wrong side, then 1” to the wrong side but do not sew in place yet!

  1. Insert the lining+batting bag into the main bag, wrong sides together, to fully enclose all your seams.
    1. Note: you may need to trim additional length off your lining+batting bag to enclose the upper edge of it into the pre-pressed hem of the main bag since the batting is adding a bit of thickness to your bag.
  2. Enclose the lining+batting and topstitch in place, sewing as close to the webbing sides as possible. Hand sew the folded hem at the webbing sides to fully enclose.

  1. Pack your new lunch bag with all the fun snacks, hot or cold! Probably not both 🙂 and go for a fun day trip outdoors with your brand new bag.

 

 

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