MORSBAGS!

Written by Rai Burroughs

MORSBAGS are reusable bags made by members of a non-profit organisation using old, unwanted and donated fabrics. After you have made the bag, you pass it on in the hope that whoever receives it will create a MORSBAG that they will give away too. Fabrics can be saved from landfill and people are using reusable bags instead of plastic!

I began volunteering with MORSBAGS when a friend invited me along to help out at their stall at The Knitting and Stitching Show at the Olympia in London in February 2019. I made my first MORSBAG with no previous sewing experience in the 20 minutes we had before the show opened. Since then I have been hooked!

As part of MORSBAGS, you create or join a pod - the group that you create the bags with. My pod, for example, is myself and a couple of colleagues from work. We meet about twice a month after work and have made 57 bags so far. There are 2,285 pods around the world who have contributed to the 360,770 MORSBAGS that have been made so far!

After helping out at their stall at The Handmade Festival in September, I took over the Instagram page for MORSBAGS and it has been amazing to see how people around the world have been using it and spreading the word!

Here are my top 3 favourite so far:

  1. Present Wrapping: Wrapping paper is a massive waste, and I plan to use fabric in future to wrap gifts. Using MORSBAGS is a brilliant idea because the wrapping becomes a gift!
  2. Teaching other people: Business Communications students from Ohio University held a MORSBAGS-making workshop!
  3. Donating fabrics: HRH Prince Charles donated the curtains from Clarence House to be made into MORSBAGS like the one pictured below. (The Royal Fabric MORSBAGS have their own special labels!)

"Sociable. Guerilla. Bagging"

— MORSBAGS

Some units in Girlguiding have already taken part in making MORSBAGS. It isn't just making them - your unit could decorate them, donate fabric to local pods or just spread the word. I would love it if you or your unit could be a part of it too!

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