Hi there, crafty friends! Have you ever wanted to make something super useful and pretty, even if you’re just starting out with sewing? Well, today is your lucky day! We’re going to learn how to make a drawstring bag. This isn’t just any bag; it’s a lovely lined one that you can make in any size you like. Imagine having a special pouch for your treasures, a cute bag for gifts, or even a handy little sack for your bits and bobs.
Making your own drawstring bag is a fantastic project. It’s simple enough for beginners but so satisfying that even sewing pros love making them. You get to pick your favorite fabrics and create something truly unique. So, grab a drink, get comfy, and let’s dive into this fun sewing adventure together! You’ll be surprised at how easy and rewarding it is to sew your own fabric drawstring bag.
Why You’ll Love Making This Drawstring Bag
Before we get our scissors and thread ready, let’s talk about why making a DIY drawstring pouch is such a great idea.
- Super Useful: These bags are perfect for so many things! Use them for storing toys, packing shoes for a trip, carrying your lunch, or as beautiful gift bags.
- Easy for Beginners: If you’re new to sewing, this is a wonderful first or second project. The steps are simple, and you’ll learn some basic sewing skills.
- You Choose the Look: The best part about making your own is picking the fabric. Want dinosaurs? Sparkles? Cool stripes? You can make your bag exactly how you want it.
- Quick to Make: Once you get the hang of it, you can whip up one of these bags pretty fast. Instant crafty happiness!
- Great for Gifts: A handmade drawstring bag filled with a little treat makes a really thoughtful and personal gift.
Learning how to make a drawstring bag will open up a world of creative fun!
Gathering Your Supplies: What You’ll Need
To start our lined drawstring bag tutorial, we need to gather a few things. Don’t worry, you probably have some of these items already, and the rest are easy to find.
| Item | Why You Need It | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Main Fabric | This is the outside pretty part of your bag. | Cotton, canvas, or any medium-weight fabric works well. |
| Lining Fabric | This goes on the inside of your bag. | Cotton is a great choice. It can match or contrast. |
| Drawstring Cord | This is what you’ll use to pull the bag closed. | Ribbon, cord, twine, or you can make one from fabric. |
| Sewing Machine | Makes sewing faster and neater. | A basic machine is all you need. |
| Thread | To stitch everything together. | Choose a color that matches your fabric, or a fun contrast. |
| Fabric Scissors | For cutting your fabric cleanly. | Make sure they are sharp! |
| Pins or Clips | To hold fabric pieces together while you sew. | Pins are classic; clips are great for thicker layers. |
| Measuring Tape/Ruler | To measure your fabric pieces accurately. | A clear ruler or a flexible tape measure. |
| Iron & Ironing Board | Pressing makes your seams neat and professional. | Very important for a good-looking finish! |
| Safety Pin or Bodkin | Helps you thread the drawstring through the casing. | A medium-sized safety pin works perfectly. |
| Seam Ripper | For fixing any little mistakes (we all make them!). | A sewing essential! |
For fabric, cotton is a wonderful choice for beginners because it’s easy to handle and comes in so many fun prints. Remember to wash and iron your fabric before you start cutting. This stops it from shrinking later and makes it easier to work with.
Getting Started: Cutting Your Fabric
Okay, let’s get to the cutting! For this simple bag pattern, we’ll cut rectangles. The size below will make a nice medium pouch, but feel free to change the sizes if you want a bigger or smaller bag. Just make sure your main fabric pieces and lining pieces are the same size.
| Fabric Piece | Size to Cut (Width x Height) | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Main Fabric | 7 inches x 9 inches | 2 |
| Lining Fabric | 7 inches x 9 inches | 2 |
A little sewing note: We usually sew with a “seam allowance.” This is the space between the edge of the fabric and your sewing line. For this project, about 1/2 inch is good.
If you want a taller or wider bag, just make your rectangles bigger. If you want a tiny pouch, make them smaller. The magic of learning how to make a drawstring bag is that you can customize it!
Let’s Sew! Step-by-Step to Your Drawstring Bag
Alright, time for the fun part – the sewing! Take it slow, and enjoy the process.
Sewing the Main Bag Pieces
- Take your two Main Fabric pieces. Place them one on top of the other, with the pretty sides of the fabric facing each other. This is called “right sides together.”
- Pin or clip along the two long sides (the 9-inch sides) and one short side (the 7-inch bottom). Leave the other short side open – this will be the top of your bag.
- At your sewing machine, sew along the three pinned sides. Remember to do a little backstitch at the beginning and end of your sewing. This is like tying a knot in your thread so it doesn’t come undone. You now have something that looks like an outside pocket!
Sewing the Lining Pieces (Remember the Gap!)
- Now, take your two Lining Fabric pieces. Place them right sides together, just like you did with the main fabric.
- Pin or clip down one long side.
- On the bottom (short side), you need to leave a gap! Pin a little bit from each corner towards the middle, but leave an opening of about 3-4 inches in the center of the bottom edge. This hole is super important for turning the bag right side out later. Mark it clearly so you don’t sew it shut by mistake.
- Pin or clip down the other long side. The top edge stays open.
- Sew along your pinned lines, starting at the top, going down one side, sewing the small part of the bottom, stopping at your gap, starting again after the gap, sewing the other small part of the bottom, and then up the other side. Remember to backstitch. You now have an inside pocket with a hole in the bottom!
Creating Boxy Corners (Optional but Nice!)
If you want your bag to stand up a bit on its own, you can make “boxy corners.” This step is optional, but it gives your fabric drawstring bag a nice shape. If you skip this, just snip the very tip off your sewn corners on both the main bag and lining to reduce bulk.
To make boxy corners:
- Take your sewn Main Bag piece. Open one of the bottom corners. You want to match the side seam with the bottom seam. The corner will flatten out into a triangle shape.
- Press this flat. Measure about 1 inch down from the pointy tip of the triangle and draw a line across. Or, you can just pin it.
- Sew along this line.
- Snip off the triangle tip, about 1/4 inch away from your new seam.
- Repeat this for the other bottom corner of the Main Bag, and then do the same for both bottom corners of the Lining piece. Make sure you measure the same amount on all four corners so your bag sits nicely.
Joining the Main Bag and Lining
- Turn your Main Bag piece so the pretty side (right side) is facing out. Leave your Lining piece with the pretty side facing in (wrong side out).
- Carefully place the Main Bag piece inside the Lining piece. The pretty sides of both fabrics should now be touching each other.
- Line up the top raw edges of the Main Bag and the Lining. Match up the side seams of both pieces and pin them together first. Then, pin or clip all around the rest of the top edge.
- Sew all the way around this top edge, joining the Main Bag to the Lining. Backstitch at the start and end.
Turning Your Bag Right Side Out
This is like a magic trick!
- Find that gap you left in the bottom of the Lining.
- Gently start pulling the Main Bag fabric out through this hole. Keep pulling until the whole bag (main and lining) is pulled through. It will look a bit messy, but trust the process!
Closing the Gap and Topstitching
- Once everything is pulled through, find the opening in the lining. Tuck the raw edges of the gap neatly inside.
- You can sew this closed by hand using a “slip stitch” for an invisible finish, or you can simply sew it closed very close to the edge with your sewing machine. This seam will be inside the bag, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Now, push the Lining down inside the Main Bag. Your bag is starting to look like a bag!
- At the top edge of your bag, gently roll the seam between your fingers so the lining doesn’t show on the outside and the main fabric doesn’t roll to the inside. You want a nice, crisp top edge. Press it with your iron.
- To keep everything neat and to give a professional look, “topstitch” all the way around the top edge of the bag. This means sewing a straight line about 1/4 inch away from the very top edge.
Your bag body is now complete! This is a key part of learning how to make a drawstring bag.
Making the Drawstring Channel (Casing)
The casing is like a little tunnel at the top of your bag where the drawstring will go.
- Decide how wide you want the decorative frill at the top of your bag to be above the drawstring. About 1 to 1.5 inches looks nice for a medium bag. Using your ruler, measure this distance down from the top edge of your bag and make small marks with a fabric pen (that disappears) or with pins all around the bag.
- Sew a straight line all the way around the bag, following these marks. This is your first line of stitching for the casing.
- Next, decide how wide your casing needs to be. It needs to be wide enough for your drawstring to pass through easily. If your drawstring is 1/4 inch wide, make your casing about 1/2 inch wide. Measure this distance down from your first line of stitching and mark it.
- Sew another straight line all the way around the bag on this second set of marks. You’ve now created the channel for your drawstring!
- Now, we need to make little openings for the drawstring to go in and out. Look at one of the side seams of your bag. Using your seam ripper, carefully unpick the stitches of the side seam only just between the two lines of casing stitching you just made. Don’t unpick the casing stitches themselves! Just the original side seam stitches that are now covered by the casing. Do this on both side seams. These little holes are where your drawstrings will enter and exit.
Crafting Your Drawstring
You have a few options for your drawstring:
- Ribbon or Cord: Super easy! Just cut two pieces of ribbon or cord to the length you need.
- Fabric Drawstring: This looks really nice and matches your bag. Here’s how to make one if you’re using the same fabric as your lining, for example:
- Cut two long strips of fabric. A good width is about 1.5 to 2 inches. The length depends on how long you want your drawstrings – maybe around 20-25 inches each for a medium bag. If your fabric isn’t long enough, you can sew shorter pieces together.
- Take one strip. Fold it in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together and press it with your iron.
- Open it up. You’ll see a crease down the middle. Fold one long raw edge into that center crease and press. Do the same with the other long raw edge.
- Now, fold the whole thing in half again along the original center crease. All the raw edges will be tucked inside. Press it well.
- Stitch close to the open edge all the way along the strip. You can also stitch along the folded edge for a more symmetrical look if you like.
- Repeat for the second strip. You now have two lovely fabric drawstrings!
Threading Your Drawstring
This is where that safety pin comes in handy for our easy sewing project.
- Attach a safety pin to one end of your first drawstring.
- Push the safety pin into one of the side seam openings in your casing.
- Gently push and wiggle the safety pin all the way through the casing channel until it comes out of the same hole you started with. (It goes all the way around one side of the bag, then all the way around the other, and back out the first hole).
- Remove the safety pin.
- Take your second drawstring. Attach the safety pin to its end.
- Push this drawstring into the opening on the other side seam.
- Thread it all the way around the bag until it comes out of the same hole you started this second drawstring with. You should now have two drawstring loops coming out of one side seam opening, and two drawstring loops coming out of the other side seam opening. When you pull both sets of loops, the bag will close!
Finishing Your Drawstring Ends
Almost there! You just need to finish the ends of your drawstrings so they don’t fray or pull back into the casing.
- Knot them: The simplest way is to take the two ends of one drawstring that are coming out of one side, make sure they are even, and tie them together in a knot. Do the same for the other two ends on the other side.
- Sew them (for fabric drawstrings): If you made fabric drawstrings and want a neater loop, you can overlap the two ends of one drawstring by about 1/2 inch and sew them together securely (a little rectangle of stitches works well). You can then gently pull this sewn part into the casing to hide it if it’s not too bulky. Repeat for the other side.
Adjust the length of your drawstrings to how you like them before knotting or sewing.
Tips for a Perfect Drawstring Bag Every Time
- Press, Press, Press: Ironing your seams as you go makes a huge difference. It makes your bag look much neater and more professional.
- Backstitch: Always backstitch at the beginning and end of every seam to lock your stitches.
- Take Your Time: Sewing isn’t a race. Enjoy the process, and your DIY drawstring pouch will turn out great.
- Change Your Needle: If you’re having trouble with skipped stitches, try a new sewing machine needle.
- Check Your Tension: Do a little test sew on a scrap of your fabric to make sure your machine’s thread tension looks good.
So Many Uses for Your New Bag!
Now that you know how to make a drawstring bag, think of all the possibilities!
- Gift Bags: Perfect for birthdays or holidays.
- Toy Storage: Keep small toys or game pieces tidy.
- Travel Pouches: For shoes, toiletries, or chargers.
- Project Bags: For your knitting or other crafts.
- Lunch Bag: A cute way to carry your snacks.
The list goes on! You can make them in different sizes for different needs.
FAQs
How to make your own drawstring?
You can make a drawstring from fabric. Cut a long strip of fabric. Fold it in half and press. Open it. Fold the long edges to the middle line. Press them. Fold it in half again. Press it flat. Sew along the open edge. Now you have a fabric drawstring!
How do you make a bag step by step?
First, cut your fabric pieces. Sew the main bag pieces together. Then, sew the lining pieces, leaving a gap. Put the main bag inside the lining. Sew the top edges. Turn the bag right side out through the gap. Close the gap. Topstitch the top edge. Then add your drawstring. Our guide above shows all these steps!
How to make a drawstring closure for a bag?
You need to make a casing. A casing is like a tunnel for the string. Sew two lines of stitches near the top of your bag. Leave space between them for the string. Make small openings in the side seams, inside this casing. Thread your drawstring through these openings. Pull the string to close the bag.
How to make easy fabric gift bags?
A drawstring bag is perfect for gifts! Follow our tutorial. Choose festive fabrics. You can make them any size. They are much nicer than paper gift bags. Plus, they can be used again!
What is a drawstring bag made of?
Drawstring bags can be made from many things. Cotton fabric is very popular. You can also use canvas for a stronger bag. Linen is nice too. For the drawstring itself, you can use fabric, ribbon, cord, or even thick string.
You Did It! Enjoy Your Handmade Bag!
Congratulations! You’ve successfully learned how to make a drawstring bag. Look at that wonderful, lined pouch you created with your own hands. It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? Whether you use it yourself or give it as a gift, you can be proud of what you’ve made.
Sewing projects like this are so rewarding. You took some flat pieces of fabric and turned them into something useful and beautiful. We hope this lined drawstring bag tutorial has inspired you to try more sewing.
What fabric did you choose for your bag? What will you use your new drawstring pouch for? We’d love to hear about your creations! Share your thoughts and photos in the comments below! Happy sewing!