Sewing My Garden (see what I did there?)

I am thoroughly enjoying growing plants from seed inside in our 'grow area', and I enjoy dreaming of the day when the frost will be gone, and the plants can finally move outside. I did not dream of having to spend $100 buying various large plastic pots to grow all my veggies in, so after feeling defeated with the high prices, I brushed myself off, and started thinking outside the pot, so to speak.

I found these cloth pots on Amazon, but considering how my germination rates have been amazing, and the fact that I am married to someone who refuses to throw out "extra" plants, I would need a lot of pots, and the cost would add up.  I decided I could pull the sewing machine out, and easily make my own version of these - one I'd like to call "Sew & Sow" :D

Here's my little trial version, and I think it turned out fabulously!!

To make the Sew & Sow, you need a roll of landscape/weed fabric.  I went the frugal way, and got a 1x10 meter roll at my local dollar store for $3.  The quality seems fine to me, but it is of course up to you how fancy you get with your fabric selection.  You also need some thread, scissors and a sewing machine.

My basic pot that I made for my peppers is 8"x8" and 11" deep.

Start by cutting a 17" section off your landscape fabric.  I used the whole yard width, so the piece of fabric should be 1 yard by 17 inches.

Then fold the entire thing over, so you have a piece that is 17" by 18".  Stitch both sides (marked as pink lines in image below).

You now have a very basic rectangular bag. We now need to add width to the pot, to give it that square look, and to give the base more stability. To do this, you need to fold the corner, matching the bottom of the bag, with the seam on the side. Then measure 4 inches, and mark the spot using some chalk.  I then drew a line with chalk across, to help me see where I had to stitch it together. Then use your sewing machine to stitch down the horizontal line, creating the side of the pot.  After this, you can cut off the corner.  Repeat on the other corner.

Now, depending on how tall you want your Sew and Sow pot to be, you decide how much you fold it down before making your final seam around the top of the pot.  I went with about 2 inches, but you can make as little as 1/4 inch fold if you'd like.

Now, turn it right side out, push out the corner, and your Sew & Sow pot is done :)

If you want different sizes, here's how you measure for it:

Height of the pot: Cut height x2, then add 1 inch seam allowance

Width/depth of the pot: Width + Depth +1 inch seam allowance.  

For example, the smaller pots in the bottom picture are 6"x6"x8", so I cut 13" (6+6+1) wide, and 17" (8+8+1).  When it was time to fold in the corners, measure in half the width, 3" in this case (desired width 6"/2).  Hope this helps.

I wasn't able to take a picture of the finished large one, since I just don't want to fill it up with soil until it's time for me to plant in it outside.  It looks similar to the small tester pot, but not as tall and thin, but more square in shape.