DIY Waste Bag for the Car

You may have heard this from me before, but we travel a lot for volleyball. A LOT. That means that when we return from these volleyball trips, we have consumed a fair amount of meals, drinks and snacks in the car. Every time we return from these trips we spend quite a bit of time cleaning out the car. The wrappers, the bags from the fast food places, the ziplock bags from home and what ever else the kids have found in the volleyball travel bags! All this traveling has inspired my DIY waste bag for the car!

This bag is just perfect for its purpose! The handle has a velcro closure so it can be easily removed to dump the waste out! The inside is made with laminated fabric (or oil cloth) so that it can be wiped out easily if some yucky stuff gets tossed in! And, it is cute. What else is there to say?

My DIY waste bag for the car also has a flat bottom, just to ensure that it does not need to be emptied every time the car stops! Follow the directions below to make one for yourself. Feel free to adjust the sizes for your needs.

Supply List for DIY Waste Bag

Fabric for the outside of the bag and enough to make a handle
Lining fabric for the inside of the bag (preferable something that can be wiped easily)
Coordinating thread
Velcro Closure (1/2 inch)

Directions for DIY Waste Bag

Measure & Cut

First, determine how wide and how tall you would like your bag. These dimensions will dictate what sizes to cut from your fabric. Use the diagram below to help with the measurements. Cut two of each fabric – you will end up with four total pieces (two outside pieces and two lining pieces). You will need to make an angle cut from the top of the bag – to where the bottom of the bag will start (notched). The width of the angle determines how wide the bag will be. My bag was cut 1.5 inches at the notch, making the bag a total of 2.5 inches wide (using 1/4 inch seam allowances).

Figure out how long you need your handle to be. Cut a piece of fabric four inches wide and as long as your need plus two inches. This will be your handle.

Assembly

Strap

Let’s start with the strap. You need to measure how long of a strap you will need to hang your DIY waste bag from your gear shift (or where ever else you may want to hang it). Mine ended up being 11 inches by two inches wide. Fold the strap length-wise and iron it on the crease. Open it back up and fold the two ends in towards the newly-ironed middle crease and iron again. Stitch near both edges of the strap, length-wise. Stitch across both ends.

Bag – top

We will first connect the inside and outside of the DIY Waste bag at the tops, and incorporate the strap. Line up the top of the inside and outside of the bag, right sides together. Place the end of the strap between the inside and outside of the bag, at a location that will work for your vehicle. I placed mine about 1/3 of the way across, but only on one side, because the other side we will add velcro to – so we can easily remove the bag for emptying and cleaning. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, stitch a straight line to connect the inside and outside. Repeat with the other set.

Bag – sides

Next, we will connect the sides of the inside and outside of the bag, again using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Open the pieces from the previous step, and lay them flat on top of each other, right sides facing each other. Pin the edges and stitch along the sides, but not the bottom! Flip the lining and tuck it inside the bag’s outside fabric.

Bag – bottom

Now for the bottom, beginning with the lining. Match up the bottom of the two pieces of lining and pin. Stitch the bottom of the lining, but leave the corner cuts open for now. Once the bottom is stitched, push the bottom up into the bag a bit, to make the square bottom of the lining. Pin the corners and stitch straight across each corner. Now, let’s repeat for the outside of the bag.

Normally, I would want the bottom of the outside fabric to have a very clean finish, but since this is a DIY Waste Bag, the bottom does not need to be perfectly flat and finished. So, fold in 1/4 inch of fabric on each side of the bottom of the fabric. Pin and stitch as close to the edge as possible. Follow the same process for the corners as we did with the lining: once the bottom is stitched, push the bottom up into the bag a bit, to make the square bottom of the lining. Pin the corners and stitch straight across each corner. Trim excess fabric off the corners to make them as clean as possible.

At this point your bag should be looking like a real bag!! Just a couple of final details and you are done!! Top stitch around the top of the bag opening, as close to the edge as possible. Then, attach velcro to the end of the strap and to the inside of the top of the bag, where you want the other side of the strap to connect.