Best Beach Bag EVER!

Oh the joys of summer! There's really nothing that I don't love about summer...except maybe when we get snakes in the pool! I love the Georgia heat, and yes, even the humidity. I love, love, love the beach. I don't particularly care for the sand I often bring home in my beach bag. But, I have the perfect solution! I started making beach bags years ago using window screen. Just give it a little shake and the sand falls right through the holes in the screen. And, they are easy and inexpensive to make...

Supplies:

A roll of window screen. It comes in silver or black. I bought a 36" x 84" roll in silver for this bag.

1.5" or larger ribbon. I used 2 different ribbons, but you could use 1.

thread to match the ribbon

needle

pins

scissors

I paid $5.89 for this roll of screen at my local hardware store.

I rolled out the screen, measured and cut the screen at 16".

The screen is 36" wide, so when I fold the screen in half, I have a bag that will be 18" high by 16" wide.

Using those measurements, I can make 5 bags from one roll of screen.

Measure enough ribbon to fit just a little longer than the 2 top pieces of your bag.

Fold the ribbon in half along the 2 top pieces of the bag and pin it in place.

With the matching thread, stitch the ribbon in place.

When you have both top pieces finished, cut off the excess ribbon.

Pin the 2 finished top pieces together to hold in place while you stitch up the sides.

Measure the amount of ribbon you'd like for the sides and the handle of your bag. This will be one long piece of ribbon. Make it a little longer than you need...you can always cut it shorter when you get to the end.

Fold the end of the ribbon under so that you have a finished edge.

Fold the ribbon in half on one side of the bag and pin in place.

Using matching thread, stitch the ribbon in place. Repeat on the other side.

Finally, fill with a towel and sunscreen and head to the beach!

Here's a bag I made using black screen...

I have also made sachets using screen. I cut a 6" x 12" piece of screen and stitched the ribbon along 3 sides. I then filled the screen with rose hips and stitched the ribbon along the 4th side to close off the sachet.