DIY Microwaveable Potato Bag by Marilyn

Photos by Marilyn Nimz

A few Christmases ago, Kaleb and I were fortunate enough to receive a microwaveable potato bag as one of our stocking stuffers. We truly did not realize the value we were receiving from this little gift at the time. We have used our potato bag almost every time we want to cook potatoes and we save so much time (we can have potatoes in minutes!), energy (not using the oven), and money (our gas bill sees the benefits). Also I was always a little unsure about using saran wrap to microwave my potatoes in. It just seems like there must be some sort of chemicals getting into your food. That is why this is seriously one of the best inventions ever. We use ours so often that it is actually starting to fall apart. When that started to happen, I realized it was time to invest in a few more. So we decided to make our own and share the adventures with you today!

You will basically be quilting your own fabric with this project due to the fact that I wanted to choose different fun fabrics to make the bag prettier (and to try my hand at quilting my own fabric). If you are just looking to make a simple potato bag for practical use, you can also just buy quilted fabric and skip steps 1-7.

What You'll Need: (pictured in steps 1 and 4)

2 cuts of 1/4 yard 100% cotton fabric (I chose 2 different fabrics so the inside would be different)

1 cut of 1/4 yard 100% cotton batting (cotton is so that it doesn't burn in the heat of your microwave)

Thread of your choice color to match

Fabric Pins

Fabric Chalk or Pencil

Measuring Tape or Ruler

Fabric Scissors

Step 1: Pick out your fabrics and make sure they are well ironed.

Steps 2-3: Measure out a piece of fabric to be 23.5"x9" and use fabric chalk or pencil if needed to draw wear you would like to cut. (You are also welcomed to make a pattern first and pin this to the fabric so it will be easier to cut).

Step 4: You can use your first piece of 23.5"x9" fabric to be your pattern for the other pieces by pinning it on to the other pieces and cutting around it.

Step 5: Pin all of your pieces together like a sandwich. Place your batting in the middle and make sure the patterned fabric has the right side out on both sides.

Steps 6-7: Here is where you get to quilt your own fabric! You can really do any shape you want (squares, rectangles, or something else if you have a fancy machine that can help with that), but I decided on diagonal lines on each side. I spaced the top of each seam 2" apart and went parallel with my first line. The hardest line is your first one on that blank fabric, but it's really not a big deal if you mess up. It's just a potato bag and you can always rip the seam. 

Step 8: Cut off about 1/4" of your fabric that is going to be on the inside as well as the batting if needed on each side of your quilted fabric. Roll your outside fabric over this once, iron it down, and pin into place and sew it giving it a 1/4" or less seam. (This is going to be your edge seam that covers all of the frayed fabric and makes it look prettier).

Steps 9-10: Fold into thirds with your desired inside fabric on the outside, but leave a little space so that when you are finished, it is easy to open. I think I left 2-3"of space between the end of the potato bag and where the opening seam would fall. Pin this into place.

Step 11: Sew a 1/2" seam on each frayed side and turn inside out. Check your corners and make sure they pop out nicely. If not, you can actually turn it back inside out and trim a little triangle off the corners (but be sure not to go past the seam or you will have holes). But this is optional. Once everything is the way you like it, flip inside out and iron it flat and voila! You have created your first microwaveable potato bag!

Step 12: Make more because you will need them! These make great gifts as well or you can take your potato to work and heat it up there!

Print and cut out the instructions below to use with your new potato bag.