Hello! Today I’m excited to share this tutorial as part of the Summertime Adventures Tutorial Blog Hop…

The theme this week is “out and about” with your kids.
After wracking my brains for a suitable project I decided to run with this easy peasy lemon squeezey drawstring bag….

Easy Peasy drawstring bag...

I think it would be a perfect beginner project to make with your child.
It’s easy-peasy and how happy will they be to have a bag to take their toys or snacks around in, give something that they made themselves as a gift to someone, or soooo many other uses?
I will now give this to Hannah for her birthday next week to carry & store her Ballet uniform in (hence my fabric choice).

So lets get started:

Ingredients required:

**  Rectangle of fabric measuring 12.5 inches high by 22 inches wide (or you could just use the width of a fat quarter – I think mine was an extra large fat quarter but I don’t think it will really matter if it’s a couple of inches narrower).
I would suggest using a heavier weight canvas or duckcloth since we are only using 1 layer of fabric.

**  Length of 5mm wide ribbon – I think mine was about 24 inches long

**  2 shorter lengths of wide ribbon/twill tape to use for the handles. Naughty me did not measure mine and just eyeballed the length I wanted – sorry! I’d say they are maybe 13 inches each?
(I ended up sewing ribbon onto some twill tape so that my handles were strong but also pretty.)

Step 1:

Iron over what will be the top of your fabric (the top long side) about 1/4 of an inch.

Iron it over again at least 1/2 – 1 inch…
basically this will be the casing for your narrower ribbon, so make sure that your ribbon will be able to fit down the tube with enough room…

Step 2:

Place a pin 1/4 of an inch under where your casing fold finishes. This is your sew-to line…

Unfold your casing.
Fold your fabric in half widthways so that the right sides are facing outwards.
Using a narrow (less than 1/4 inch) seam allowance, start at the bottom on the fold and sew around the bottom of your bag and up the side, stopping when you get to the pin.
Make sure that you reverse your stitches a couple of times at the beginning and end to secure your stitching….

Turn your bag in the wrong way so that the wrong sides are facing outward. Make sure that you carefully push out the corners so that they are at sharp points.

Using a wider seam allowance (I used the needle far left position) sew around the bottom and side of the bag from the fold to the pin, again making sure you reverse stitch at the beginning and end to secure your stitching.

Your bag should now have a nice neat french seam all the way around with an opening at the top ready for your casing…

Step 3:

Where the opening is, iron over the raw edges 1/4 of an inch…

Iron them over again so that the raw edge is neatly enclosed

Sew down the fold from the top of the bag to the point bottom of the V as close to the edge of the seam as you can (so that your raw edge is now trapped)…

Trim all your threads
Roll your casing (top edge of your bag) back over the 1/4 then 1/2 inch that you ironed in step 1.
Pin your fold over as pictured below & sew approx 1/8 of an inch from the edge of the fold to make your casing (roughly where the pin is).
Make sure that you reverse your stitches again at the beginning and end.

Turn your bag right side out again…

Step 4:

Take your the wider ribbon that will become your bag handles. Make sure that they are exactly the same length.
Doubling over the end of the ribbon to trap the raw edge (or you can skip that step if your ribbon end is finished and won’t fray) pin one edge at each side of the bag.
Just take care to pin under your casing like my picture example so that you don’t accidentally sew your casing closed…

Take care to place them equal distances from the top and side edges on each side of the bag.
Flip the bag over and do the same to the other handle…
Lift your back up and just check if your handles are the same length as each other.
If not then go ahead and repin until they are…

Sew the handles down.
Make sure that you trap all 3 layers of ribbon if you have doubled it over, that your raw edge is nice and secure.
Also make sure that you have the arm of your sewing machine in between the top bag layer and the bottom bag layer so that you are not accidentally sewing your bag shut at the top… (been there done that before 😉 )
I like to go back and forth a few times over my stitch line to reinforce.

Handles attached. Woo hoo….

Step 5:

Attach a safety pin to one end of your 5mm ribbon and use it to help you feed your ribbon through the casing at the top…

Pull the ribbon all the way through, tie it in a bow and your drawstring bag should now be complete….

All ready to fill with toys, snacks etc…

Wouldn’t it also make super cool wrapping paper?
I’m thinking I need one for for my newly acquired crochet hobby perhaps…

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little bag project & let me know if you have any questions!

Also linking up with Our Creative Spaces…

I share my creative space on Village Voices

 

 

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  1. Wow, you sure work fast 🙂
    I should have shown you Kaizer’s puzzle drawstring bag that I made last week while we were chatting today, it’s not quite as fancy as this fabric wise but works a treat at keeping all his pieces together.
    x

  2. Do you have any idea how much I love you right now? I’ve been looking for a quick and easy drawstring bag tutorial online for my latest endeavor. I’m hoping you’ll help me with it too, but I’ll send out a plea email later. 🙂

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