Posted on by thelongthread

Lunch Bag

For some reason, I get obsessive over lunch containers. I love to look through the bento blogs and I’m always cutting the girls’ sandwiches with cookie cutters. I never thought I’d be this kind of parent, but here I am. I want their lunch to look good. So after I ordered this adorable stacking container set purely based on its appearance, I realized that it wasn’t insulated and wouldn’t fit in any of our existing lunch bags. I considered making a simple insulated sleeve, but then just decided to make the bag to also hold a drink, silverware and a napkin.

This bag is fully lined, insulated and fastens with a magnetic snap at the top. See below for variations and a link to the pattern. It was simple to make and is extra roomy (9″  x 9″ and 5 1/2″ deep). I used vinyl-coated cotton, but acrylic-coated cotton may be a safer and more eco-friendly choice. If you have a teflon presser foot attachment, that’s helpful but not required as you’ll mostly be sewing the vinyl right sides together. I got the printed fabric from Fabricworm, but it looks like it’s currently out of stock. It is perfect for my five-year-old and even has bits of glitter in the fabric.

Variations on this pattern:

  • Make it your own size. Change the dimensions to suit your needs. This bag is large enough to work for an adult lunch bag as well. Simply choose your favorite fabrics or try a basic black.
  • Use all cotton. This is a simple tote bag pattern and can be made with all organic cotton for easy care in an eco-friendly fabric.
  • Add a flap. By simply inserting a lined flap in the final step, you can help keep food contained. You’ll need to move the magnetic snap to the front of the bag and use one strap attached to the sides.
  • Make a tab. You could also make a simple tab with the magnetic closure attached to it.
  • Add a zipper. Someone mentioned in the comments that she might like to add a zipper, which is a great idea. But I’d suggest omitting the side pieces and squaring off the bottom corners of the bag (similar to the construction of this tote). This would make zipper installation much less complicated.
  • Add a pocket. You could easily add a pocket to the inside for an ice pack, an outer pocket for notes, or a side pocket for a drink. But this is a pretty roomy bag as it is.

Click on the image below to download the pattern .pdf file.

84 Replies to “Lunch Bag”

  1. Precious! I’m in the midst of struggling with what we’ll do for lunches this year, too. I think this plus a bento box is totally the way to go for our 3yo at Montessori, but for Mr. 2 at preschool, I’m still flummoxed. He’s SO messy!

  4. Looking forward to the tutorial and I can’t wait to share it with my friend at Another Lunch. Her bento blog is one of my favorites.

  6. I’m having a hard time finding supplies of coated cotton. I would be happy to find a large selestion of oil cloth, limated cotton, acrylic-coated cotton or vinyl-coated cotton.

  8. oh, that is adorable! I have “Lunchbag” on my to do list, and so I am glad you plan to do a tut! My sister is starting teaching this year and this will make a nice pretty gift for her.

    We love our “dog rocket,” too, btw, and I will be posting it on my blog this week and linking to your tut.

  10. so cute, I just snagged some of that fabric too, it’s so cute! Love the lunch bag. And the bento lunch blogs are so fun to look at!

  12. Luv it. Fingers crossed I can find all I need to make this. Looking forward to tomorrow!

  17. Thanks so much! I’ve got the material stacked for my kids’ lunch boxes, but hadn’t decided on the style just yet. This cinched it! Your design (with the possible modification of a zipper at the top). We’ll see. Thanks again.

  18. Very cute design & fabric prints. I made one using the Amy Butler kind recently which is acrylic. You’re right about it being safer – anything for kids or food stuff should be phthalate free. Fabric.com has a good selection. Also, just wrapping a layer of tissue paper over the shiny side makes it easy to sew shiny side out (so you don’t need a special presser foot).

  19. is it just me or is there a problem with the Lunch Box pattern?
    I really want to make this 🙁

  20. Thanks, Catheryn. Oops, I had forgotten to link to the file, but it’s fixed now!

  21. Yay all fixed. Now I really have to drag myself away from here & get creating 🙂

  24. I think you should take a trip to Japan, I was stationed there for 4 yrs. You would be in heaven .. they have so many cute bags like this and BENTO heaven

  25. I love your fabric choice! And the larger size is good to accommodate reusable lunch containers. I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing. –Anne

  26. I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one obsessing over bento blogs 🙂 I love the lunch box! Thanks for sharing.

  28. Love it. I’m actually working on a back-to-school-what-cool-ways-to-pack-lunch post for my blog – I’ll definitely be linking to you!

  29. I write for a blog called The Green Scene. My column, Meghan Monday, is about crafty GREEN projects. This is perfect! Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be sharing this project with our readers on Monday. Feel free to spot by 🙂

  33. Oh, THANK YOU for this! I made the one from “One Yard Wonders” for my son, but didn’t want to quilt it…and the result is a floppy, disappointing mess. The proportions of this bag will work much better. Now all I need is time to make it. 🙂

  37. I really like the look of this neat lunch bag. The download ended without mentioning the cotton webbing handle…just wanted to be sure I got the full tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

  39. I LOVE this!! So happy i found your lovely and very inspiring blog!! My new found love. 🙂 Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you!

  40. I started making my son’s lunch for school tomorrow and his thermos doesn’t fit in his lunch box my Mom bought for him. So, I am going to make one of these, but I can not find acrylic coated cotton anywhere!! Where did you find it? I really want to make this, thanks so much for the tutorial! 🙂

  41. You always have the best tutorials! I can’t wait to make these for my kids with coordinating little sandwich bags inside. Many of the great new laminated fabrics are polyurethane-laminated and food safe, too. Thanks 🙂

  42. Thank you for this pattern. I have been looking for a new lunch bag, but didn’t want to buy another. I wanted to go more green. You have the most interesting post. Thank you again.

  48. Your special commitment to getting the message along became extraordinarily insightful and has surely helped many people just like me to arrive at their objectives.

  50. Thanks for the great tutorial, Very cute design & fabric prints. I really love this pattern. I had a lot of fun with this pattern. I made mine as a dual purpose lunch/ballet bag.

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