Cricut Lunch Bag | Reusable Cotton Lunch Bag with HTV

I just LOVE finding unique project ideas to do with vinyl that other people aren’t making, and this cute reusable made-with-a-Cricut lunch bag (using HTV) is no exception.

I had the initial thought of making a reusable “Cricut” lunch bag but I have never loved the cheap plasticky feeling of the generic ones you can get here locally (plus I always worry they are gonna melt, and my kids are waaaaaay too cool for those anyway).

I was looking for something that was simply a bag, made with natural materials, and when I saw these cute cotton lunch bags that mimic the look of a paper sack I just fell in love!

In fact, I thought they were so cute, I custom made an SVG design just for this project.

Reusable lunch bags with HTV are so fun and what’s nice with these recycled cotton lunch bags, you know that it is both sustainable, and healthy for both you and the planet.

These bags would also be gorgeous personalized, and using the SVG I created you can easily ungroup the design and remove the word “lunch” and replace it with a name in a contrasting color, which would be super cute.

ACTUALLY – for those of you who sell your creations, they would also make a gorgeous high end product for sale that would set you WAY apart from anyone in your area selling the cheap bags.

So – here’s what you need to make this Cricut lunch bag:

MATERIALS

• Cut File – I used my “Lunch Subway Art” cut file (along with some others) which is NOT currently available but will be available by the end of March 2022.
• Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) (I used black colored Siser Easyweed)
• Recycled Cotton lunch bag (I used the Eco Bags I found on Amazon)

EQUIPMENT

• Craft cutter (Silhouette, Cricut, etc)
• Weeding tools
• an old book or piece of 1×8/plywood/etc
• Teflon sheets
• Heat Press OR an iron (It was easier for me with an iron)
• Muscles 💪

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Measure the vinyl-able (is that a word? It is NOW!) surface of your bag.
2. Size and cut your design accordingly with the HTV. Don’t forget to MIRROR!
3. Weed the design.
4. Wrap an old book/board/etc that’s roughly the width of the surface to be pressed with a teflon sheet and insert it inside the bag so that you will have a flat surface for pressing. (The teflon sheet protects the inside of the bag from any dirt and melted plastic coating from the book cover)
5. Pre-press your bag. Note: I had some issues with the pressing portion of the design, which I will detail below.
6. Position your prepared HTV design and press down firmly with your hands to adhere the sticky backing to the bag.
7. Using an iron on the cotton setting, press the design firmly, LIFTING and moving the iron (do not slide it around).
8. Keep pressing until the HTV is fully adhered to the bag. You’ll know it’s done when you can see the texture/pattern of the fabric weave through the vinyl.
9. Gently remove the plastic backing and at this point I like to re-press using a Teflon sheet just for a minute to make sure I got every spot.
10. Let it cool and admire your work!!

** A couple things of note here:

• These particular bags are super cute but the seams are pretty thick. This is why I couldn’t use my heat press.
• I DID try to dial my heat press up because it can adjust to press thicker items to allow for the book i stuck inside the bag, but the book I had that fit the width (to provide an even pressing surface) was just too thick.
• You COULD use a heat press if you can use a thinner insert than the book I used – like a piece of a 1×8 or something or better yet, cut a custom piece of .25″ or /5″ plywood to fit. If I was going to make multiples of these for sale, that’s what I would do.
• You could also use pressing pillows, but I don’t have any myself so I can’t say how well they would work.
• Make sure you turn these inside out before washing!

So – now, are YOU gonna make yourself a Silhouette/Cricut lunch bag?

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