Upcycle feed bags – give colorful pet and chicken food bags new life

Here’s an easy way to upcycle feed bags.

With a dog, cat, wild birds, and a flock of chickens, we go through a fair amount of feed. The feed comes in lovely bags that are a shame to throw away. Luckily, there is an abundance of new uses for those bags. Upcycle them instead of recycling them.

Besides having great animal and bird pictures on them, they are waterproof and fiber-reinforced. They can support heavy loads, and I can’t bear to just throw these away.

How to make upcycle feed bags into reusable bags

There are many patterns online to turn these into reusable shopping or carrying bags. Here is a video tutorial for making reusable bags from Meyer Hatchery and a no-sew reusable bag from The Frugal Crafter

Tips for making reusable bags from feed bags

A friend of mine gave me a bag in exchange for collecting some for her, and the biggest advice she gave me was to be sure that the handle stitching was well-reinforced. The handles on her first bags gave way when carrying a heavy load.

Stitch in an “X” shape and reinforce the stitching or use canvas flat braid trim to make the handles, and consider running them under the bottom of the bag and up to the top as handles.

What can reusable bags be used for?

• These bags fold easily to take on your shopping trip.
• They are waterproof, so they are good for the beach and carrying wet towels home.
• You can rinse them out at home, so there’s no worry about getting them wet or sandy.
• They are made to stand up, and that is so handy when using them to store things because they sit upright.
• They make wonderful gifts that you can customize for the dog, cat, chicken, wild bird, and other pet lovers in your life.

Upcycle feed bags into aprons and other useful items

I love the apron idea! How great would it be to have an apron you can hose off!! It’s up there with rubber garden clogs! Personally, I’d add some pockets to the apron or maybe even some loops for garden tools (think the gardening version of a tool belt).

Here’s a site with inspiration and instructions for other things you can make using feed bags. You just might find some other gift ideas on this list. I know I did.

And here are 10 things I don’t throw away because they have other valuable (and cheap!) uses.

If you have other ideas to share, please send them along in the comments, and I’ll post them for our readers and thank you personally.