The Prettiest Way to Throw Stuff Away

I found this great idea on Pinterest for a designer car trash bag and just had to give it a shot! 

I should have taken more pictures of the process so I could give a tutorial, but I forgot... So I'll just give a step-by-step without the pictures. If my process doesn't make any sense, you can also check out this tutorial, which I didn't find until after I made my trash bag. Oh, well.

Materials:

• Interfacing - 1 yd made 3 trash bags
• Scrap fabric - I found some fat quarters and ended up with plenty left over
• Ribbon 

Instructions:

1. Quilt the sides: I quilted the fabric together first. This is totally optional. Mine is quilted, but my friend made one, too, and hers is all the same fabric, so she just cut her fabric to size. 
2. Make the sides: Next, pin together the outside layer of fabric, the interfacing, and the lining fabric. This will make a sandwich. Then stitch around the edges and (optional) down the middle to hold it all together.** Dimensions for mine were about 14''x10'', but you can make it any size. 
3. Add a border: After stitching the fabric to the interfacing, attach a ribbon to the top. I did this to make it look more finished. Pin on the ribbon and stitch as close to the edges as possible. 
4. Make the bottom: Cut out 1 circle of interfacing and 2 circles of fabric (about an 8'' diameter). Make another sandwich and stitch together. This will be the bottom of your bag.
5. Attach the bottom: Put the circle against the length of the sides with the pretty sides of the fabric touching. Starting about 2 inches in, stitch together. Go very slowly so you can follow the circle. I didn't pin it before I started sewing, but you may want to. 
6. Finish the sides: Once the circle is attached, sew together the edges of your sides. Then flip your bag right-side-out. Ta-da! 
7. Embellish: Add a button, a ribbon handle, a flower, or anything else! 
8. Start using it! Stick a plastic bag in it and start throwing away trash! Mine's been done for all of an hour and I already have trash in it. 

The bottom was really tricky. Be sure to stitch slowly if you're using a sewing machine. 

Step 7: Embellish. I added the button because the stitching from the ribbon was really ugly, so I wanted to cover it. (:

**

**The blog where I found this project did step 2 a little differently than I did. I'm pretty sure her interfacing and her cover were 2 separate pieces instead of stitched together, so she had the trash bag, the interfacing tube, and a plastic bag. 

I used a Walmart bag for mine. I had to bend over the handles of the bag so they wouldn't hang out over the sides, but I think it looks fine. 

Again, just comment with questions and I'll be glad to answer them. 

Happy crafting!