I’m always looking for ways to better store produce on the boat. I stumbled onto a cloth salad bag online and thought it would be great for the boat. Fresh produce is a precious commodity on the boat, so whenever I can find ways to extend their life and reduce plastic I’m happy!
I sewed a salad bag to try at home and was surprised how well it extended the life of the lettuce. I purchased one head of leaf lettuce with a little bit of wilting, and after a day in the salad bag in the fridge it perked right up and look perfect!
This might be one of the easiest boat sewing projects you can do. After looking online at ones sold, I just purchased a pack of dish clothes and with only a few stitches it was done. Really, this is just a bigger simpler version of the boat laundry bag.
You can customize the size of your bag to fit whatever size of lettuce or produce you want. I’ve found taking a standard tea towel and folding it in half works fine. Having the drawstring at the top allows more space than you think in what size of lettuce you can fit in. If you purchase fabric you can make whatever size bag is best for you.
Along the top i fold over the fabric to make space for the drawstring. I try and keep this as narrow as I can, trying to maximize the size of the bag. For this bag I went for a 1 inch fold.
If I hadn’t picked a tea bowl with lines on the fabric I may have opted to not pin it, but I want to make sure the blue lines lined up nicely. I sewed as close to the existing stitch as possible, leaving as much space to bring the drawstring through. Just one straight stitch, leaving the ends open for the drawstring.
With the top of the salad bag stitched, you just need to sew along the two sides, stoping about 2 inches or so from the top. Once you’re done, turn it inside out and you’re done! Just insert the drawstring using a safety pin and you’re done!
I love boat sewing! Sewing practical things for the boat is so satisfying. Happy boat sewing!