I need a pattern and or some help
 

My wonderful husband sells things at flea markets and needs some help in orginizing. one of my ideas is to make him a bag to store his plastic bags ( the ones from the grocery store) In the past i have seen neat ones but now that I need one cant find one- also to complicate things he said that it would be really neat if it looked like a fish or and animal of some kind Help!!! any patterns or ideas or where to get a pattern????
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The ones I've seen are basically just a tube of fabric with a casing on both ends. You put elastic in the casings and a hanging loop on one end. As far as making it fish or animal shaped, I don't know how that would work, but you could always use fish or animal print fabrics. Who knows, when people see his bag holder at the swap meet, you may get a few orders to make them for other folks.

See if you can find a pre-printed panel of a fish or something. I know they used to have a fish and a turkey. Make it into a bag instead of a pillow. For the turkey, you could just stuff him with the bags.

I think you could freehand a fish shape and use the mouth and tail for the ends where the bags go in and out. The top wouldn't need to be gathered, but the bottom could be gathered at the narrowest part of the tail. Post a picture if you get one made. This sounds like fun, but I'd never get around to doing it. Plenty of time, not enough energy.

Most of the ones that I have seen were a kitchen towel sewn the long side together making a tube with elastic on each end and one end with a loop of ribbon for a hanger. I'd look for a panel or towel with the picture you want on it. If needed you could quilt it before sewing it together. Good luck!

Simplicity patterns has some cute ones.

Here are a few different ones;

http://tipnut.com/grocery-bag-holders/

What if you made a regular grocery bag holder and appliqued a fish on it. You can find a lot of cute fish shapes to use. You could even make it out of the leg of an old pair of jeans and applique a fish with a fishing line and hook. Do an image search on Google for fish, there's a ton of good ones. Some cute ones are line drawings from coloring books which would make great patterns.

Thank you very much everyone I am getting some good ideas

Great links to some really pretty projects. Many thanks.
Annie

If you have an embroidery machine, Betty's Original Embroidery has some cute designs.

Find a basic picture that you like of an animal or fish - usually in a coloring book. Free hand enlarge this on the back of wrapping paper. Using a color book means your free hand drawing doesn't have to be anatomically correct! LOL. The length is the important measurement, adjust all other measurments to this. Cut 2 of these shapes out of your fabric. On the right side of one piece of fabric sew a tube of your choice size with elastic at both ends. This will hold the plastic sacks. It should not go all the way to the edge of the fabric. Stop about 2-3 inches short of the edge. Cut a piece of foam core or cardboard the shape of your animal pattern; trim 1/2" smaller all the way around. Place the two pieces of fabric together, right sides out with the foam core inside. The back fabric will have the tube on the outside of it. Pin or baste or glue your fabric. Satin stitch the edges together. You will have an animal shaped rigid sack dispenser. Attach your choice of strap to hang. Hang fish by the gills; hang possums by the tail; hang almost everything else by tail and nose. Hope this idea helps.

I made my daughter one. Made it out of two hand towels.I sewed them together add string to top and elastic to bottom.

How about using a wind sock? We have a fish one we got at Walgreens.

Here is a link to a pattern. http://downloads.cas.psu.edu/4H/PlasticBagHolder.pdf

Here is a fun one from Moda Bake Shop:

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/06/...rial.html#more

Thanks for the links, I've been thinking of making many of these....time to start storing bags, I imagine in a few years plastic grocery bags will be gone (a good thing)

I don't know if this will work. You would no doubt have to adjust your measurements.

I've seen in one of the pattern companies (like simplicity or mccalls) a giant fish body that was a bed for a cat. You can do something similar but encase the mouth and tail in elastic for the bags to come in and out of

Just noticed the post above mine. Looks like what I was talking about

Maybe this info will help you - http://tipnut.com/grocery-bag-holders/ - lots of ideas. Good luck and post a photo when you get it finished.