Anyone can be a Morsbagger
Morsbaggers come in all shapes and sizes — all ages, all backgrounds, all sorts of skills. Schoolchildren and students, mums and dads, soldiers and WI ladies, prisoners and pensioners. If you can thread a needle (or fancy learning), you’re in. And if you can’t? There’s still a job with your name on it.
Everything we do is free, forever — not-for-profit, never for sale. Here’s the whole menu of ways to join in. Pick one, pick five, or start at the top and work your way down.
1. Make a Morsbag
Raid the airing cupboard, rescue some tired bedding or a guilty fabric stash, and turn it into a fabulous reusable bag. It’s easier than you think — follow the basic pattern or watch the how-to video and you’ll have your first Morsbag done over a cuppa.
- Grab the free pattern to download.
- Prefer to be shown? Watch the How to Make a Morsbag video.
- Finish it off with an official Morsbags label so people know it’s the real deal.
2. Start a pod (or be a solopodder)
A pod is simply a group of morsbaggers. Many meet round a kitchen table or a local hall — sewing, chatting and eating cake are all essential parts of the process. Prefer your own company? Be a solopodder and stitch away happily by yourself.
Give your pod a catchy name, register it, and add your bags to the central tally. That rising number inspires everyone to keep going and shows what we can do together — a few bags a month from each of us adds up to tens of thousands. There’s even a pod leaderboard: the most prolific pods sit proudly at the top.
3. Join a pod
Not the ‘start something’ type? Join a pod that’s already going. Have a browse of the morsmap to see who’s in your area, then ask if you can join in, donate fabric, or lend a hand. There’s more than likely someone nearby — new friends made, resources shared, tips swapped. Even a pod that isn’t looking for new members is a great way to coordinate locally.
4. Use your Morsbags
Take your new bag shopping — you’ll remember it more easily now you’ve put the effort in. Stash a few in the car, in the bike basket, in your handbag. The golden rule: you should never be caught bag-less. And if you have forgotten one, try to do without rather than take a plastic one — juggle the shopping, use the trolley to the car, unload straight into the boot. Don’t give in!
5. Give Morsbags away
This is where the magic happens. Get the bags you’ve made out into the wild so they can be used and reused and reused…
- Give them to friends, family, colleagues and secret crushes.
- Post them through letterboxes or pop them on windscreens in car parks.
- Bag the person in front of you in the supermarket queue.
- Wrap presents in them, or hand a batch to a local shop to give out.
Feeling bold? Join a mass handout day and get a whole batch into circulation on the same day as morsbaggers all over the world. Stockpile your bags, target an area, rope in friends and the local press — then celebrate with tea, wine and cake.
6. Not one for handing bags out? Use another talent
Approaching strangers with a freebie isn’t everyone’s cup of tea — and that’s absolutely fine. Every pod finds its members have different strengths, and all of them help:
- The chatter — loves talking to people about the cause, armed with a beautiful bag someone else made.
- The cutter — happiest with scissors and a stack of fabric.
- The ironer — makes everything look crisp and lovely.
- The sourcer — enjoys hunting down fabric and sorting the logistics.
- The driver — ferries bags, fabric and morsbaggers about.
- The baker — keeps the pod fuelled with cake. Never underestimate this one.
7. Donate fabric
Got a guilty stash that hasn’t seen daylight in 25 years? Inherited old bedding you’ll never use? Even the most hideous fabric looks fantastic reincarnated as a Morsbag — and there’s always someone who loves the one you thought no one would.
An old single duvet cover, unsellable in a charity shop because of one small hole, can become at least six Morsbags. It’s incredible how much fabric is lying dormant and dusty when it could be doing something useful instead of new cotton being grown. Some pods set up a collection point in a local shop; others advertise locally and pick up. Have a rummage — then find a pod to pass it to.
8. Run a workshop or hold a stall
There’s nothing like being shown how to make a Morsbag rather than just being told. Set up a workshop in a local school or group and inspire them to start their own pod. Or hold a stall at a summer or Christmas fair — they’re ethical, green, creative and community-minded, so organisers are usually delighted to have you.
Just remember: everything about Morsbags is free, so the pitch should be free too. We’ve never had any bother with this, so hold your ground if anyone tries to charge you! Our resources page has everything you need to get started.
9. Sponsor labels & support the cause
Those little woven labels turn a homemade bag into an unmistakable Morsbag — and we give them away free to keep the movement going. You can help keep them flowing:
- Order labels for your own bags from the shop.
- Donate to help cover labels, patterns and running costs — every bit keeps Morsbags free for everyone.
- Good with grant applications? We’d genuinely love to hear from you — funding helps us provide free labels to more morsbaggers.
10. Spread the word
Publicise Morsbags any way you fancy. Write a blog, tip off a journalist friend, mention it in a local newsletter, enthuse to your craft group, or raise it at a school committee. Send a letter or a Morsbag to a high-profile person — you never know! And if nothing else, you could always stroll about in one of our t-shirts. Every mention plants a seed.
The running total
Every bag added to a pod tally pushes this number higher — and every bag is one fewer plastic bag in the world. Add yours and watch it climb.
633,795Ready when you are
Whether you’re here to sew, cut, iron, chat, drive, bake or simply spread the word, there’s a place for you. Pick where to begin — we’ll be delighted to have you.
We’d love to hear from you — whatever you’d like to do, drop us a line at admin@morsbags.com.