These drawstring bags are so quick and easy to make, and can be used for so many purposes during the holidays. I’m not joking when I say you can make one of these in 10 minutes. I made six of them in about an hour. Would you like to learn a quick and simple method for whipping up some drawstring bags of your very own? Read on!
I’ve been sewing all kinds of little things for my kids (like these simple bean bags) and needed somewhere to keep them, so I whipped up some little drawstring bags. I think they look so fun hanging by the fireplace! Don’t worry, they won’t replace our Christmas stockings, but I will leave them up for a little while since they look so pretty.
How to Sew Mini Drawstring Bags
MATERIALS NEEDED
For one bean bag you will need:
A piece of cotton fabric measuring 12″ long by 7″ deep.
One 16″ piece of leather cord (or any other kind of cord) for the drawstring.
Fold it in half so that the short sides are aligned and the right sides of the fabric are facing each other. Stitch around the bottom and side (raw edge only) with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Clip the corners, being very careful not to cut any stitches.
At your ironing board, fold the top edge under 1/4″ and press.
Then fold the top edge under another 3/4″ or 1″ and press.
Go back to the sewing machine and remove the arm so you can slip the bag onto the remaining piece. Start stitching at the side seam and stitch around the top of the bag, just under 3/4″ from the folded edge. It’s very important that you backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam. (If your machine does not have a removable arm, you can place the folded edge under your presser foot and stitch around it that way).
This is your drawstring casing, so make sure the line of stitches is straight at almost a full 3/4″ from the top edge.
Mark two lines along the side seam where I’ve marked the photo below.
Stitch back and forth along those lines a few times so that the stitches are really secure.
Now use a seam ripper to open the side seam.
Now pull out your 16″ piece of leather cord (or any other kind of cord) and your small/medium safety pin.
Thread the leather through the eye at the bottom of the safety pin and pull it through about 3″.
Insert the safety pin into the casing through the whole you opened in the side seam. Thread the leather through the top of the bag using the safety pin.
Pull the safety pin out through the other side of the seam opening. This part can be a bit tricky, so take your time and don’t pull too hard on the safety pin. Part of the seam’s raw edge may become visible when you pull the leather through the opening, but you can push it back in using the tip of a pair of scissors. Cut off any frayed pieces of thread that come through the opening, and pull the end of the leather cord all the way through.
Now you can pull on your leather drawstrings to close the bag.
Congratulations, you just made your own drawstring bag! Wasn’t that fun? Now it’s time to make a dozen more to hang by the fireplace before Christmas.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and find some great uses your drawstring bags over the holidays! I think it would be fun to make 30 of them to use as an Advent Calendar. Although… I must admit that would be a lot of sewing!
Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy Sewing!
0 comments:
Post a Comment