Drawstring Bag DIY - 5 out of 4 Patterns

These drawstring bags are great for so many things! I use them for wrapping gifts, giving to my girls to store their doll clothes or their games with little pieces, and for carrying dance shoes, bar grips, and water bottles. You can make them any size that suits your needs, and make them with a single or double drawstring.

Supplies:

Woven fabric
Drawstring material: ribbon, twill tape, string, etc
Sewing machine
Pins
Iron

Choose Your Size

You can make any size that you want. You can either cut out two rectangles to sew together and there will be a seam on the bottom of the bag or just one long rectangle that you will fold in half. I will show you how to sew it with either option.

Prep Your Fabric

Start by ironing your fabric to get it nice and flat
Finish off all the edges to prevent fraying. You can do this by serging around the sides (shown) or using an overcasting stitch on your sewing machine. You can also use pinking shears around all of the edges.

Sew The Two Pieces Together

**If you cut out one long rectangle to be folded, skip down to Let’s Get Sewing!**

Place the two rectangles right sides together and line up all the edges
Pin along the bottom edge
Sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance and press the seam open

Let’s Get Sewing!

Fold your fabric in half hamburger way so that the folded side (or seam) is at the bottom
Decide if you would like a single drawstring or two
For two drawstrings, measure down 3″ from the top edge on both sides and mark with pins
For one drawstring, measure down 3″ from the top edge on one side and mark with a pin
Pin the rest of each side below the pins
Sew from the bottom edge up, stopping at your pin and backstitching a couple of times (if you have a bottom seam, pin the seam allowance to either side of the bag before you sew)

Press the seam allowance open on both sides
At the top where you stopped sewing at the pin(s), press the edges in towards the bag about 1/2″ and pin in place
Turn bag right side out and sew along the pinned seam allowance

Create the Drawstring Channel

Fold the top edge down 1/2″ and press
Fold the same edge down again 1 1/2″ and press
Pin in place
Sew along the inner edge of the folded edge about 1 1/4″ inch in

Drawstring

If you have one opening for your drawstring, fold your drawstring material in half along the top of the bag and let both string ends extend about 6″ past the edge of the bag and cut to size
If you have two openings for your drawstring, lay your drawstring material along the top of the bag letting it extend about 6″ further than both sides of the bag, and cut to size. Cut a second drawstring the same length.

Using a safety pin or other threading tool, thread your drawstring through the channel(s)
For one drawstring, take both ends and tie and knot
For two drawstrings, take one end of each string on the same side and tie in a knot, then repeat on the other side

Look how cut those are! Go you!

Want more FUN DIY Freebies? Check out the FREEBIE TUTORIALS and the FREEBIE PATTERNS!

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