Hanging Mesh Produce Bags for Storage

Keep your fruits and vegetables fresh, tidy and accessible with a hanging mesh produce bag. Follow this easy sewing tutorial to make your own in small, medium and large produce bags. Hang potatoes, onions, garlic, apples, etc. in your pantry. No more taking up counter space or space in your cabinets. They are a great space saver, and help keep everything organized. Not to mention, your produce will last longer! Gardeners particularly love the hanging bags to store the fruits of their labor. Seeing all the colors of the delicious produce just begs to be eaten. Hanging mesh produce bags are fantastic sellers at farmers markets and craft fairs if you are looking to make a few extra bucks too.

This sewing project really couldn’t be easier too. It’s only a few lines of stitching on a machine. Cut out the pieces for all three sizes before sewing to make it go faster. Dimensions for small, medium and large bags are included in the tutorial. The large produce bag will hold an entire 10 pounds of potatoes! A small one is perfect for garlic or ginger, and the medium will hold everything in between. This is one sewing project you’ll use weekly! Grab your sewing supplies and let’s get started!

Supplies to Make a Hanging Mesh Produce Bag

• Mesh Fabric
• 3/8″ Elastic
• Nylon Webbing
• Coordinating Thread
• Sewing Clips
• Safety Pin
• Scissors
• Rotary Cutter
• Cutting Mat
• Acrylic Ruler
• Sewing Machine

Mesh fabric allows the produce to breathe, and it also has a lot of stretch. Nylon webbing is often used to make bag straps and pet leashes. Grab a whole roll because you are sure to find more projects to sew it on! Choose thread in a coordinating color because you will be able to see it through the mesh and when top stitching on the nylon webbing. Use sewing clips instead of straight pins to better hold the mesh and webbing.

Hanging Mesh Produce Bag Sewing Tutorial

The first step on this hanging mesh produce bag sewing tutorial is to cut your materials to size. Decide if you are making a small, medium or large hanging mesh produce bag. Then make the cuts as outlined below.

The small size will hold heads of garlic, ginger, and other items about that size.

A medium hanging mesh bag is ideal for onions, apples, lemons, limes, etc.

The largest size will hold ten pounds of potatoes. Eight pounds are shown in the photo.

The step-by-step photos in this tutorial are showing how to make a medium sized hanging mesh produce bag. Mesh has more stretch in one direction than the other. Make sure the the stretch moves from the longest side to the longest side (18″).

Once you have your materials cut out for this hanging mesh produce bag sewing tutorial, lay the nylon webbing across one short edge of the fabric mesh. Clip in place with sewing clips.

Now on this hanging mesh produce bag sewing tutorial, it’s time to sew! Sew the edge as close to the top as possible while keeping the integrity of the webbing and mesh.

Next, sew along the bottom of the webbing. This will give your produce bag the strength to hold a lot of potatoes.

To make the bottom of our hanging mesh produce bag, we need to fold the bottom edge of the mesh under 3/4″ and clip.

Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance and the bottom is done.

Now on this hanging mesh produce bag sewing tutorial, fold the mesh lengthwise with the right sides of the nylon webbing touching each other. Clip to hold in place.

Beginning at the top with the webbing, stitch down the long edge with a zig zag stitch. STOP before reaching the casing at the bottom.

Now we will add the elastic. Start by pinning a safety pin to one end of the elastic.

Leading with the safety pin, feed elastic through the casing.

Secure one end of the elastic with a clip when it reaches the casing opening.

Continue feeding the elastic all the way through the casing. Clip both ends of the elastic together.

Now on this hanging mesh produce bag sewing tutorial, stitch over the elastic ends, going back and forth multiple times to secure them together.

Fold one edge of the casing inside to form a neat closure, and sew it in place.

Next, reach through the end with the webbing, and turn the mesh produce right side out.

To add the hanging strap to our hanging mesh produce bag, clip one end of the other piece of nylon webbing over the long seam on the bag.

Then top stitch the strap, sewing in a square and from corner to corner.

To do this, raise the presser foot and turn the produce bag when reaching a corner. Repeat as necessary.

TIP: Use extra caution to move the under side of the bag away from the needle. You don’t want to sew through it by mistake.

Attach the other side of the strap to the opposite side of the hanging mesh produce bag.

Then top stitch another square with an “X” to secure it in place.

You made a hanging mesh produce bag! To use, hang it in your pantry or kitchen and fill it with produce. Wash and dry the bag as needed.

If you liked learning how to make a hanging mesh produce bag, make sure to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board or share it with friends on social media. If you decide to make this simple project on your own, make certain that you take a picture afterward and tag us on social media as we love seeing the fabrics and color choices that people use!