From Vellux Blanket to Reusable Produce Bags

What is a Vellux blanket?

Are you familiar with the Vellux brand of blankets?

Introduced almost sixty years ago, they continue to be a leader in the market today. Even if you're not aware of the name, it's unlikely that you've never seen one or used one, especially if you've ever stayed in a hotel.

These are characterized by their softness, warmth and lightness (in weight). As stated on the Vellux Australia site, "the name derives from 'vel' for velvet, and 'lux' from the Latin for light. The blanket material consists of two layers of a dual density foam melted onto a central membrane and covered with nylon ‘flock’."

That central membrane is the mesh that is the focus of today's sewing project.

This mesh is the underpinning of a Vellux blanket...

Last May, my mom's younger sister, hubby and extended family came up for a short visit. Aunt and uncle stayed over at Mom's place in her den, sleeping on a futon. To enhance the comfort level of the futon, Mom put down a Vellux blanket on top of the sheet. In the middle of the night, my aunt reported that she kicked at the blanket and her foot went right through it!

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When I saw the blanket, it appeared as though it was separating into its composite layers. Noting that the middle layer appeared to be a very usable mesh, I rescued the whole thing from the garbage bin and took it home. (Hey, as a crafter, it's all about identifying opportunities to do so sustainably, right?)

Days later – out on our back lawn – I finished peeling it apart. The top and bottom foamy sections were trashed and the resulting huge expanse of white mesh was tossed into the washing machine. At the time, I didn't have any plans for what to do with it.

Mesh turned into reusable produce bag...

Then in the late days of summer, a bag of bananas "disappeared" on the way home from the grocery store. Most mysterious. Mom insisted that she packed it into our shopping bags, but when we got back to her place, there was no bag of bananas to be found. Searched the vehicle and even called the store. Anyway, long story short, not only was she out her banana purchase (it was on the receipt), I was out a mesh bag.

Weeks later, I thought, what better purpose for this material than to make some reusable produce bags? Of course, I have enough to make many, but three will do for now.

Cutting material for three mesh bags...

I eyeballed the size needed, which turned out to be approximately 30" long by 13" wide. Nothing really difficult about the process; each piece is folded in half horizontally along its length and then the two sides are sewn up with a rolled hem. The top edge is left unfinished.

Three reusable mesh produce bags off the assembly line!

The mesh was surprisingly easy to sew, considering that trying to clip/pin the rolled hem was not without its challenges. (I actually found it easier just to roll the hem as I sewed.)

By the way, my idea of a rolled hem seems to differ somewhat from what I see online. The way I do it does not involve sewing along the edge first and then doing some sort of slicing away of the fabric before sewing again.

My "cheater" rolled hem on a chiffon scarf...

I simply fold the raw edge over and then fold the folded edge over again – i.e., the fabric is rolled to hide the unfinished edge – and then sew down just once to secure the seam.

I'm guessing that the more elaborate method is to ensure perfect results when one is sewing clothing, like around an armhole or neckline. A produce bag does not need perfection, so if you can manually "roll" the seam, I see no reason not to finish it in one pass. 

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If you're wondering why I didn't put any sort of closure on these bags – like a drawstring that's commonly on the ones that you buy – my answer is that the plastic bags that we typically use for this purpose don't have a closure on them either. (And no, I don't use any of the twisty-tie things either.)

The mesh is quite strong and stretchy and the raw edges don't fray, but I would imagine that a drawstring might put undue stress on the stitching around a casing. If you make the bag long enough, it's just as easy to tie a knot when needed.

Holds more than my store-bought mesh bags...

Back to the origins of this project. Apparently the care label on a Vellux blanket indicates that it should be washed a minimum of twice a year. Left untouched in permanent storage, it will invariably dry out, resulting in the self destruction that occurred in this case.

The good news is that if you do happen to have one of these that you've ignored in your linen closet for years, take it outside and peel it apart. Maybe you can use a bunch of reusable produce bags too!

In a worse case scenario, I see this as a total win for repurposing and upcycling. Now that I think back on it, the foamy parts can absolutely be retained for filling stuffies and such, too. Missed opportunity!

'Til next...