Do you like to keep a neat and tidy vehicle? We do (though unfortunately sometimes that isn't so obvious!) and something that has helped us in that is having trash bags for our vehicles. Ken bought the first fabric trash bag that we got and we were impressed with the way it worked and he was ready to get a 2nd one but I figured I could make one just fine instead (and save something like $8). I made that one years ago for our van and we have been using it ever since.
Last month I was making birthday gifts and I thought this might be a practical gift to make for my brother that travels a lot (along with some snacks to take with him on his travels too).
The way this bag works is that it has a fabric bag that has a top part gathered together with elastic (so it won't easily spill but you can easily put something in it) and then it has an open bottom (to easily remove the trash) that rolls up and secures closed with Velcro. It is made to be able to hang securely over the arm of the seat or around the headrest.
Supplies Needed:
- A good sturdy fabric
- Elastic
- Thread
- Velcro
- Something stiff like boning. I used a couple of layers of plastic strapping (from around boxes), in the past I have used a plastic strips cut from a milk jug or ice cream pail.
- Straps - Material sewn into straps would also work.
- Thread
How to make it:
Cut out a 20" x 20" piece of fabric. I also cut out a small little piece of fabric that I wrote "TRASH" on with a permanent marker and then sewed on as shown above as a label. That is optional.
Next I turn over the top a couple of times and made a casing that my elastic could fit through.
Then I folded it in half with the right sides together and sewed the "side" seam but I didn't go quite up to the top - I wanted to still be able to put my elastic through the casing. Next I hemmed the bottom of the "bag".
I then prepared a couple of straps about 6 - 8 inches long each and put Velcro on the end of them so that they could attach together. I sewed them in place about two inches down from the top and about 6 inches apart from each other on the back side. (You can see the placing better on a picture near the bottom.)
Next I turned it inside out and sewed on a strip of cloth about 2 inches down in to make a casing for the "boning" (in my case plastic strapping). I inserted that so as to make the bag be rigidly open.
Then I inserted the elastic in the casing (I always put a safety pin on one end to help me pull it through. You want the elastic to be pulled tight enough that the opening is fairly small but still loose enough so you can put trash in fairly easily. Then sew the elastic together while you finish sewing the side seam.
Next on the back sew one piece of Velcro as shown.
And on the front side sew the other pieces of Velcro on right at the bottom. Make sure to only sew the Velcro on one layer so that the bag is still open at the bottom. Next step is to roll the bottom up and Velcro it closed.
Now it is all done and ready to be put to use!
Please let me know if you have any questions and if so I will try to make things clearer.
This bag can go through the wash when needed.
How do you deal with trash in your vehicle?
Your bag is cute, but I think we would need a more "open" top -- I don't think our family would bother opening the elastic to put trash in.
ReplyDeleteMy car actually came with a trash type container; for my husband's car, we use an empty ice cream bucket and empty it at gas stops.
We use an empty pop-top baby wipe dispenser with the lid removed. Empty when full, wash out when needed, recycle when it gets too scummy.
ReplyDeleteOur old vehicle used to have compartments at the base of each door. We used these compartments for trash, and pretty much nothing else. Tough to clean sometimes, though.