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Sew small drawstring bags to store everything… or to wrap it all up!
Small drawstring bags are quick and easy to sew, even for beginners with our video!
Available in all sizes and usable with any type of fabric, they are perfect for storing jewellery, socks, lingerie, sewing supplies, embroidery materials, and much more.
Consider them as gift wrapping too: reusable and eco-friendly, they turn the wrapping into an extra gift!
What you will need
To sew a small drawstring bag, you will need the following supplies:
- fabric, see all Sajou fabrics sold as swatches; we often offer small packs of multiple swatches.
- ribbon or cord, here we have used one of our twill ribbons; its material is ideal for small cords that slide well.
- pins, preferably with glass heads,
- a safety pin,
- sewing thread,
- a pair of scissors.
To calculate the length of ribbon
You will need four times the width of the bag plus four times 15 centimetres for the exterior ribbons.
If your bag is quite large, you can make the exterior ribbons a bit longer.
Finished, our bag shown in the video measures 22.5cm wide, so we used 150cm of ribbon.
Sewing the bag
- Cut two identical pieces of fabric, in our video example: 35cm high by 25cm wide. Place right sides together and pin them.
- On each side, mark a pencil line at 7cm from the top and a second line at 8.5cm. These marks indicate the opening for the drawstrings.
- Sew around 1cm from the edges, leaving the two openings free. Always backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam to secure it. Remove pins as you go and trim excess thread after each seam.
- Clip the two bottom corners. In sewing, clipping means cutting off the fabric point to avoid bulk and give sharper corners when turning the fabric.
- Press the seams open with an iron.
- Set your machine to a zigzag stitch to overcast around the edges of the bag, which will prevent fraying.
- At the top of the bag, fold over 1cm, ensuring the side seams are open. Press.
- Fold again at 4cm and press.
- To make stitching easier, turn the bag right side out and position it on the machine with the wrong side facing you. Stitch all around close to the fold.
- To form the drawstring runner, make a second stitch 2cm from the edge of the bag, using the guide on the sewing machine, which is near the presser foot.
Making and threading the drawstring
- Cut two pieces of ribbon, each equivalent to 2 times the width of the bag plus 2 times 15cm. In our example: 22.5 + + 22.5 + 15 + 15 = 75cm for each ribbon.
- Fold one end over by 1cm and then fold the ribbon in half. Secure the start with a pin.
- Stitch along the edge of the ribbon.
- When you reach the end, fold over 1cm at the tip and finish stitching.
- Repeat the same steps for the second piece of ribbon.
- Attach a safety pin to one end of the ribbon and thread it through the casing, going all the way around and coming out on the same side. Both ends of the ribbon should be on the same side.
- Do the same for the other side, inserting and exiting through the same opening.
- Remove the safety pin and equalise the lengths of the drawstring ends.
- Finally, tie the ends of the ribbons together on each side.
C'est fini !
The advantages of glass-tipped pins
For small projects with simple shapes, it is not necessary to tack. After marking the folds, a few pins suffice. You will notice that our seamstress places her pins at an angle. The pins are removed as you sew.
Glass-tipped pins are easy to see on the fabric and, more importantly, if they fall on the floor. They are also easier to grab hold of. However, don’t even think about using plastic-tipped pins, the melt under the heat of an iron which can be a catastrophe.
