VeraMia Canvas Grocery Bag 3pc XL Set with Real Pockets, Long Shoulder Strap and Short Handle. Heavy Duty, Foldable, Washable

My family uses reusable grocery bags for All the Things and we have a mighty collection. However, I was looking for bags with interior pockets that could better serve as small carry-alls for the beach, road trips, corralling kid and critter gear in the car, and other purposes. I wanted something that didn’t scream “this bag came from Trader Joe’s.” And something with pattern or color to help disguise the inevitable crud that accumulates on bags intended to go from trunk to ground to kitchen floor and back again. That would stand up to many years of washing said crud off, and wouldn’t rip out when overloaded with rocks and beach detritus that my offspring insist must have a permanent home in our garden. And it must be well made. And big enough to only need one for most purposes. And not have cutesy sayings or massive logos emblazoned across it.I had just about given up when these VeraMia lovelies appeared on Amazon over the summer. I am not a frequent review writer, because usually I buy items that have tons of reviews already. At the time I placed my first order, these had zero reviews. You guys, I don’t but zero-review items. In this case, in the hope of finding my holy grail canvas bag, I broke the First Rule of Amazon and bought not just one but a set of THREE unreviewed items.These restored my faith in humanity, or at least in the often sketchy world of Amazon Marketplace. The bags remain one point away from being my HG only because they lack built-in ground-crud camouflage. I can easily remedy that with dye, but wanted to try that before I pronounced them practically perfect in every way.The photos show three versions of this bag:—The first is au naturel, as received. The plain unbleached cotton is very nice quality! If you’re not picky about getting these dirty they are awesome right out of the package.—The second version was batch bleached for 6 hours in a solution of 16 oz of chlorine bleach to 5 gallons of water, and then washed in hot water and dried on a medium heat setting.—The third version was not bleached first. I started with a new bag from the package of 3. It was washed in hot water with synthrapol, soaked in soda ash solution, and then ice dyed with Dharma fiber reactive dyes. The dye was batched for 24 hours before rinsing, washing again with synthrapol in hot water, and drying on medium.Results:—The bleached bag isn’t snowy white, but I was only trying to pull the yellow tint out of the fabric to prep it for dyeing. If I needed it pristine white, I’m confident another round of bleach would get it there, but might compromise the fabric’s structural integrity more than I would like.—Both the bleached and dyed versions experienced about the same shrinkage, shown in the original/dyed comparison photo.—With proper prep, these bags take fiber reactive dye like a champ! I used the same amount of powder I’d apply to clothing and still got deep, saturated colors throughout the exposed areas of canvas.—It’s worth noting that they appear to be sewn with poly thread, which did not take the dye. If this was a garment, I’d suggest the manufacturer switch to cotton thread to keep the dyers of the world happy. However, one of these bags is quite capable of holding more groceries than I can carry over my shoulder for long, so I am 100% thrilled with the poly thread.In operando testing:—Bigger on the inside. With three of these, I accomplished a monthly Costco run with zero boxes and nothing weird rolling around in the cargo area of my car. They were so heavy, I had to leave one for a second trip.—Sturdy. Try doing that with plastic or even normal canvas grocery bags. If you are comfortable carrying them fully loaded, you can use 3 instead of 7-10 standard bags.—Pockets! The pockets are large and deep. Bottles of olive oil and wine. Blister packs of chicken. Stacks of canned tuna. All. In. Pockets. That left space in the middle of the bag for oddly shaped items and things without enough structure to stand up on their own.I am rarely impressed with the design of utilitarian items like this, but as other reviewers have noted, the company who makes these clearly put some thought and care into designing these. At about eleven Amazonbux each as I write this, these are a solid deal. I imagine the counterfeits are not far behind, but as long as I can purchase from this vendor at this cost, I will certainly be buying more to dye and gift to friends and family.Thanks to VeraMia for offering a thoughtful upgrade to the current state of the art in canvas grocery bags!

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I wash then paint these bags because in our area, we can't use plastic any more! They are wonderful, roomy, durable! Only problem was they are SO large, they folded when full but solved that by cutting a piece of old 1x6 to fit the bottom...works perfectly! Get many compliments on my painting, and turning the bags inside out to wash has saved the paint! Ordered a second set to paint and give away!!

These are nice big bags with 2 different size handles. Pockets on inside for small items. I am painting pictures on the front. Great for gifts too.

Very handy when grocery shopping.

Great size and quality.

I wasn't expecting the material to be as thick as it is I think it will be a long time before these ones wear thin. I bought two packs of 3, went to the grocery and barely needed 3 to fit my entire grocery run.My only concern is is the stitching. For as big as the bags are I don't know if the stitching is going to hold up, the Canvas certainly will, but the stitches are going to break long before the material does. My guess is, the pockets will go first and then the handles.If the manufacturer offered a version of these bags with better stitching I'd gladly pay an additional $5-$10. Also, the tags in the bags don't say where they were made if that's something that you care about.

Awesome bags!

The inside pockets are great, items don't shift around.