How to Sew a Linen Bread Bag

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Looking for an easy sewing project to store your bread? Here’s how to sew a linen bread bag.

For over the past year, since the pandemic, I have done my fair share of bread baking. I must say that the smell of bread baking in the oven is wonderful and tastes so good.

I was looking into ways of storing bread. A freshly baked loaf will last 2 or 3 days in our home.

Why Linen?

Linen is a natural, breathable fabric that helps keep bread fresher, longer. It does not dry out the bread.

Plastic bags can tray moisture and just add more waste to our world. The linen bag is washable and reusable.

I enjoy sewing with linen. I’m made a few linen projects, including

• lavender eye pillow
• Japanese style cross back apron
• tea towels
• essential oil roller cases

I’ve also sewed a similar drawstring bag for all of my hair appliances – you know, the hairdryer, curling iron, and flat iron. They are great for travelling. This design is very similar, if not, pretty much the same.

Supplies Needed to Sew a Linen Bread Bag

With just a few simple supplies, you can whip up a bread bag in no time. As I tend to bake round or oval loaves, I am going to make a 13-inch square bag.

You can easily alter this to make it smaller (for buns) or make it rectangular to accommodate a longer loaf or baguette.

• linen fabric – while the most obvious source would be a fabric store, consider using linen napkins or towels and upcycle them.
• sewing machine using a straight stitch.
• sewing notions – thread, scissors, pins/clips, etc.
• iron – when working with linen it needs a press.
• drawstring – also consider cotton twill tape or even a shoe lace!

How to Sew a Linen Bread Bag

When dealing with linen, be sure to iron as you go. It helps a lot.

• Cut fabric so that it measures 13 x 26. Now since I was using fabric and my fabric was 54 inches wide and I didn’t want to waste fabric, mine was actually a bit bigger (like 13 x 27). It’s all good!
• Press the fabric in half. The fold will be at the bottom of the bag – we only need to sew the side seams.

• You can sew the sides either with a serger and/or using French seams.
• To do a French seam, start with wrong sides together (so right side facing out) and sew a small, 1/4 seam. You can sew or serger this. Turn wrong side out and sew again with at least a 1/2 inch seam – you want to encase that first seam inside so it does not show.
• Leave 2.25 inches at the top on both sides – so don’t sew all the way up. It should be open at the top.
• Give it a good press. For that 2.25 inch opening at the top, fold it over to match the seam and press as well.

• For each top edge (you have 2 – the front and back), fold and press 1/4 inch down and then an inch. This makes the casing for the ties.
• Top stitch (near the 1/4 inch fold) to make the casing.

• If using twill tape, you can either fold over the raw edge twice and sew or simply tie a knot.
• I used a 30″ length of twill tape for mine.
• Feed it through both casings (I use a safety pin), making a complete circle and tie the ends.

There you have it! A simple, easy to sew linen bread bag that didn’t take too long to sew. Now I have a nice bag to keep my baked bread in.

Want to remember how to sew a linen bread bag? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.