

Photos provided by Debby Sparks and Shutterstock
Upcycling feed bags into useful items gives the material new purpose. Debby says that feed bags are an especially versatile material because the exterior canvas is water-resistant, tough, and easy to sew into different applications, including aprons, grocery totes, zipper pouches, and more.


A standard 50-pound bag of feed yields almost two yards of raw material, so Debby always has some ready for a project.
“When feed bags finish their original purpose, let’s turn them into something that’s useful, sustainable, reusable, virtually indestructible, and beautiful,” Debby says.
“Even if you’ve dumped out the feed, you’ve still got this raw bag that’s dusty and has a smell,” Debby says.



To make tote bags, she cuts off the parts of the feed bag she doesn’t want or need (like the top of the bag) and sets them aside until she has a stockpile of several of the same style. She also cuts out any ancillary components, such as handles and matching fabric lining that she’ll pair with the bag. For inner lining, she cuts the fabric a little larger—maybe 1/2-inch—to accommodate a side seam in the lining.
When Debby’s stockpile is large enough that it threatens to topple over—sometimes reaching a few feet tall—she takes to the sewing machine, churning out a complete bag or apron in under an hour. Here are her directions for making a tote bag:



“People call me from all over and bring me bags; they leave me bags wedged underneath the windshield wiper of my truck, throw them in the back of my truck, leave them under the propane tank at the fire station, leave them on the front porch, call me to meet them in parking lots—all different places and different cities,” Debby says, laughing. “I’ve become known as the Bag Lady.”



When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Debby pivoted from sewing bags and aprons to using the material to create masks to donate to local hospitals and essential workers.
For Debby, creating solutions to ongoing problems—like reusable items filling landfills or ending up as litter—is a no-brainer.
“This is not rocket science!” she jokes. “If you can use a pair of scissors and a ruler and a pencil, you can do it too.”
Jennon Bell Hoffmann writes lifestyle and human-interest stories from her home in Illinois.
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