Plastic bag holder

I really do try my best at not being a slave to plastic bags, by using reusable totes and what-not. But it's absolutely impossible (for me) to never use them. I'll find myself making an unexpected trip to the dollar store or whatever, and CRAP! I forgot one of my totes. Where do you house the bags that accumulate? You can't just throw them away! At the bottom of the pantry? Under the sink? Here's a great way to keep them tidy and out of the way.

Materials:
Kitchen towel
Thread
Pins
Safety pins
Ribbon
Elastic

Fold your towel in half lengthwise and sew a 1/2" seam along the long edge backstitching at the beginning and end. Stop short, 1" from each end.



At one end, fold back 1" of fabric, and sew 1/2" from the edge to form a hem. Leave both ends of your hem open.


Attach a safety pin to your elastic piece and slide it through your hem until you reach the end. (the length of your elastic will depend on the opening of your towel. Just thread it through leaving 1" of elastic to overlap with the other end of elastic. Make sure when you thread the elastic through it puckers up a bit). Sew the ends of the elastic pieces together, then sew the hem closed.

Do the above step again on the opposite end of your towel but thread the ribbon through it instead of the elastic. Don't sew the ribbon pieces together. Allow an extra 3" on each end to hang out and sew your hem shut. Tie the ribbon together.

Turn your towel inside out and fill it with your bags. Stuff the bags through the ribbon end and pull them out as needed from the elastic end. I just hung it on a hook from the inside of my pantry door.