Tara's Bags
Welcome to the family

Thank you for taking
a chance on us

You scanned the sticker on your pack, which means five Tara's Bags are in your hands right now. Here is everything we would tell you in person: how to fold a bag back into its pouch, how to wash it, and what it will carry.

Royal Blue Charcoal Mocha Black Purple
Fold it back · about 20 seconds

How to fold the bag into its pouch

The pouch is the small patch sewn inside the rim, with the navy lining. It never comes off the bag. You fold the bag down to the size of the pouch, then turn the pouch inside out over the bundle.

  1. Empty it and lay it flatFront face up, handles at the top. Smooth the fabric with your palm so the folds land clean. Find the pouch at the rim and leave it lying open.
  2. Fold the sides inFold the left side over to the middle, then the right side over that, so the bag is now a long strip about as wide as the pouch.
  3. Fold the handles downLay both handles down flat over the strip, toward the bottom of the bag.
  4. Fold from the bottom upStarting at the bottom edge, fold the strip up in pouch-sized sections, keeping each fold tight, until the folded bundle sits right against the pouch.
  5. Turn the pouch over the bundleReach into the pouch, grab its far edge, and pull it inside out over the folded bag, the way you turn a sock. Tuck any corners in and close the elastic. Done.

First time takes a minute. By the third bag it takes twenty seconds. If the bundle will not fit, the folds are too loose: open it up and fold tighter, especially step 2.

Care

How to wash it

Polyester dries fast and does not hold smells, so the bags need less washing than cotton. When one gets a spill, this is all it takes.

Do
  • Wipe spills with a damp cloth as they happen. Most days that is the whole job.
  • Hand wash in cool water with a little mild detergent, rinse, and hang to dry.
  • Machine: cold water, gentle cycle, inside a mesh laundry bag or a pillowcase, then hang to dry.
  • Turn the bag inside out before washing so the printed side and seams are protected.
Don't
  • No tumble dryer. Heat is the one thing that damages this fabric.
  • No bleach and no fabric softener.
  • No iron on the pouch or the elastic. If you must press the body, use the lowest synthetic setting with a cloth in between.
  • Do not leave a wet bag folded in its pouch. Dry it open first.
Capacity

What it holds

Open, each bag stands 15.75 inches tall on a 5.5 inch flat bottom, deep enough for a week of produce or a bakery run standing upright. The 9.5 inch handles ride on the shoulder when your hands are full.

Two habits make the bags last for years: put the heavy things (cans, bottles, a melon) in the bottom and spread them across two bags rather than piling one, and carry by both handles together. The piped seams are strong, but no fabric bag likes to be dragged across concrete by one strap.

Good to know

Honest answers

The bag looks wrinkled and floppy when it is empty. Is that normal?

Yes. It is a soft, unstructured fabric on purpose, so it can fold into a pouch the size of your palm. Fill it and it stands square. A quick steam, or a warm (never hot) iron through a cloth, takes the creases out if they bother you.

The colour is a little different from the photos.

Screens and lighting shift colour. The names are accurate: Royal Blue, Charcoal, Mocha, Black and Purple. If a bag is a different colour from what you ordered, write to us and we will make it right.

Can the pouch come off?

No, it is sewn into the rim, which is the whole point. It cannot be lost, and there is never a moment where you have the bag but not the pouch.

Something is wrong with my bags.

Write to [email protected] with a photo and your order number. A person reads every message, usually the same day. If a bag arrived damaged or with a seam fault, we replace it.

One last thing

If you have a minute

We are a small family business in downtown Los Angeles, and every pack passes through our hands before it reaches yours. A review on Amazon, whatever you honestly think, helps other shoppers decide and helps us more than you would guess. Thank you for being here.

Tara's Bags · [email protected]