Yesterday I made a new lunch bag. As with most of my functional projects, it started with my specific goals and I designed it around those. My last lunch bag I made in grad school; it had to be pretty small because we had such a small fridge, and I wanted to be able to throw it in the wash.
Now I have to accommodate more food, because I work longer shifts. I bring my own plastic ware, because not all locations that I work in have it (a funny, annoying quirk of the huge institution I work for). I've been keeping all this stuff in my lunch bag, which meant that my lunch sat on top of about 5 inches of clutter. I wanted it waterproof and easy to clean, but I didn't think oil cloth would work for both the outside and the lining, and I wanted to put pockets that would be hard to work in oilcloth.
The result: a slightly larger bag, with an outer shell of red checked oilcloth, an inner lining of blue PUL, and pockets of laminated cotton (Little Kukla print, from which I recently made a lovely tablecloth). The pockets are all different styles. One is gusseted and has snaps (leftover from my failed attempts at making diapers). One has an elasticized top for the plastic ware. The other two are flat pockets. I can keep my pager, pens, notes and iPhone charger in these pockets and have the inside free for my meals. And I made these straps long enough that I can wear it over my shoulder, which is way easier when I am also carrying my sleepy 2 year old to and from the car.
What do you think?
