**The Joy of Sewing: Creating a Simple Drawstring Bag**

As I sit here with my sewing machine and fabric, I am reminded of why I love making things by hand. It's not just about creating something functional, but also about the sense of accomplishment that comes with seeing a project come together from scratch. Today, I'm excited to share with you one of my favorite projects - a simple drawstring bag.

As I began sewing, I started by boxing out the bottom seam allowance, which would later become an important feature of our bag design. The way this allowance is used creates a small gap opening that allows for easy access and closure. It's amazing how something as small as a 1/4 inch seam allowance can make such a big difference in the final product.

With my bottom seam allowance boxed out, I moved on to pressing open the side seams. This was another crucial step in creating our bag, as it allowed me to see the full shape of the fabric and ensure that everything would lie flat. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance provided just enough room for this small gap opening, which would later become a convenient feature.

Next, I turned my bag right side out, pressed under about 1-1/2 inches of fabric to enclose the raw edge, and then continued pressing around the casing. This might seem like a lot of work, but trust me, it's worth it - once you get both strings in place, the bag will look incredibly sturdy and professional.

As I worked on my bag, I couldn't help but think about how great it would be to use this design for birthday parties or other special occasions. There's something so magical about giving someone a handmade gift that shows you care. And the best part? This bag is quick and easy to make - perfect for last-minute projects.

Now, let's talk about the fun part: putting our strings through the casing! I chose 42-inch long strings, which should be suitable for most bags. If you're making a smaller bag, you might want to use shorter strings. As I pushed my string through, I was reminded of how sewing is all about problem-solving and figuring out creative solutions.

After completing one string, I moved on to the second one, carefully navigating it past any other threads in the way. It's not always easy, but that's part of the fun - figuring out how to work with different materials and shapes. And when you finally get both strings in place, it's such a satisfying feeling.

One final touch I like to add is tying off my ends with a knot. Not only does this prevent fraying, but it also adds a cute finishing detail to my bag. It's these little touches that make a project truly special - and it's amazing how something as simple as a drawstring bag can bring so much joy.

In conclusion, sewing is not just about following patterns or instructions - it's about experimenting, problem-solving, and creating something unique and beautiful. If you're new to sewing, I encourage you to try your hand at making this simple drawstring bag. Not only will you learn a valuable skill, but you'll also have the satisfaction of holding a handmade creation in your hands. Happy sewing!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys it's Dana I've got another fun bag idea to share with you it's the classic drawstring sack and it comes together in a cinch drawstring bags are a really easy project to make I started seing then when my kids were little because it was a really easy thing for them to grab fill with a few toys and then they could take it in the car so they were entertained at the doctor's office or when we were out to eat at a restaurant I would just say go get your bag and they could do it all on their own I love that you can make them in any size from really little like this one to really huge whatever you want and I love making them as birthday gifts for family and friends so here's what you need a small amount of fabric and two strings you want to cut two pieces of fabric that are 14 x 15 in and you can make that any size but those are the dimensions for the bags that I just showed you now for your strings you can use all sorts of different things too what I'm using here is actually some bias tape which you'll remember from our bias tape video I just took some and I sewed down the sides of it so that everything is all enclosed and then I cut each one 42 in long that's the great size for the dimensions of this bag other things you can use is rope cording which you remember from our piping video you see everything relates back to each other so we is fun that way or something else that I really like to do is when I have scraps of fabric from say like a t-shirt I cut some strips that are about 2 in wide doesn't have to be precisely those measurements and then when you yank it really hard it kind of turns into like a little tube and makes a really cool string sometimes I'll tie a little knot in the end and then I've got some really fun strings all ready to go and it does doesn't Fray so you can just cut the end good okay let's set your strings aside and let's cut our fabric I've got my fabric folded in half with right sides together and that just makes it easier when we start pinning that the right sides are already together I'm using pinking shears to cut my fabric which are those funny little zigzag scissors and that just keeps the fabric from fraying over time with toys coming in and out of the bag with lots of usage you can also use a serger to Surge off the seams to keep those from fraying but these work just great or you could just leave the seams as they are no big deal okay I'm cutting that side I'm going to cut this side then we're going to measure 14 by 15 in let's see 14 in right there let's cut and this is fabric that I'm using from my fabric collection called Boardwalk Delight this is the ferris wheel print and you can see more about that in my video all about my fabric okay 15 in and there we go okay two pieces of fabric set that aside over here and then one thing I want to show you on these drawstring bags what makes it so unique and kind of fun is that it has this casing in the top and we need to leave a little hole in the side here for the strings to come in and out so that we can pull it closed grab a ruler and I'm using a fabric marker and first we're going to measure Down 2 in from the top so right like that just place a tiny little Mark and then measure down one more inch this is where the opening is going to be Place Another Mark simple and then do the same thing on the other side 2 in and then 1 in okay now let's pin that together and if for some reason those markings aren't standing out to you you can place extra pins right there so that you remember to leave an opening cuz if you don't leave an opening it makes it a little difficult to Cent your strings up okay let's go to our sewing machine we're going to sew this similar to how we've done a tote bag we're going to start on one side sew down sew around the bottom and come back the other side but we have to remember to leave those 1in Gap openings that we marked on our fabric so come over to your machine I'm threading mine with just a white thread you're not going to see this well you actually might see it a little bit on the outside so take that into consideration when you select a color I'm just following the markings on my machine and then I come over and and I press my little magic button here and it threads for me I love my baby lock for that reason okay we're ready to sew bring your fabric over and I'm using about a/2 in seam allowance do a little back stitch at the beginning as I'm always telling you and I'm watching for my first marking here I'm going down about 2 in and if you're going too fast you can always adjust your speed control right here and that is really great when you're trying to watch for those Mar Mar okay I see the first one I'm going to stop do a back stitch just a few come back okay then I'm just going to lift my needle move down to the next marking so I'm leaving that one inch Gap do a back stitch again and then just keep sewing going down when you get to the end pivot and turn you'll find that as you start sewing these bags that you're going to love making them and you're going to start making them for all sorts of different things these are awesome to take like it's a little garment bag if you're traveling you can put dirty clothes in it or hair things swimming suits I don't know so many different reasons for a drawstring bag okay I'm almost to my marking on the other side I'm going to slow down here do a little back stitch lift my needle move down an inch to my other marking and then sew that last little two Ines back stitch back stitch at the end cut my threads I love The Cutting feature okay now one thing I want to do is to box out these bottom corners we've done that before also in our tote bag video and I'm just going to do it real quick here not even going to press anything if you remember I'm pulling these two seams together like that to create kind of a little triangle and you can box this out whatever length you want I like to do 2 in so I'm going to mark down 2 in right here and then draw a perpendicular line perpendicular line which should be about 4 in straight across like that there you go I'm going to sew that in place go back to your machine forward and back stitch sew it down cut and then I'm going to use those pinking shears again to trim that seam that will also keep it from fraying with time I'm always saying that but it's really important when you have things that you use a lot or items that kids are going to use you want to make sure they're going to stay together well okay I'm doing the other side now bring those two corners together make your little triangle two Ines down and you don't have to do this you could just leave it flat I just like the dimension that it gives the bag and it helps things kind of I don't know have a little more room inside okay draw my line over and this marker that I'm using is a fabric marker that read the instructions on your package but typically they dissolve with water or they just disappear over time magic okay little back stitch sew down another little back stitch cut your threads trim off the excess Fabric and you don't have to trim them fabric you could actually just leave that inside that works just fine too okay now we're going to go to our iron and press out our seams okay this is what our bag looks like right now and you can see the way we boxed out the bottom looks really awesome now we want to press open the side seams and this is why using a/ inch seam allowance is really great because it gives us a little more room for that small gap opening that we left and you can see as I'm pressing it the little Gap is right there good job okay keep pressing and I'm actually just going to do the sides I'm not going to worry about the bottom so turn it right side out there we go and we're going to press under about I don't know a qu of an inch just enough to keep that top raw Edge enclosed in the casing go around to the other side okay now we're going to fold it under another about 1 and 1/2 in just enough so that it's enclosing that little opening that we left okay we'll press that in place and keep going around it might look like your casing is quite large but you'll find that once you get both of those strings in there it actually looks really good and you're going to be glad to have a little bit extra room okay you don't have to pin this in place if you think you're fine sewing without pins I'm just going to pin a couple spots and then we're going to go back to our sewing machine okay I'm sewing about 1/8 of an inch from the edge of the fabric and you can start anywhere on the casing cuz we're going to go all the way around so I do a little back stitch and to start sewing I find this is one of those projects that I tend to do last minute when my kids say Mom I have a birthday party I'm going to and it's like ah it's really great to make a little bag throw a little treat inside or maybe a little simple game and people are always amazed when you give them a handmade gift I think because so often we just buy things at the store that's really special to get something that's homemade and this is a really quick thing to make okay I'm almost back to the beginning here do a back stitch cut your threads and now we're ready to pull our strings through okay I've got my bag and I've got my two strings cut 42 in long and you can cut them whatever size works for your bag if you made a really little bag you probably want something smaller than that I just placed a safety pin on the end and that's going to help push it through the casing so go to your first opening push it in this is similar to when we made a simple skirt and we pulled elastic through the waistband just going to keep pushing it and moving it around and when you get to the other side make sure it's not caught in the seam or anything like that there we go and you'll see how it can come out that opening but we want it to go back through to the other side I love making these bags cuz the first time it was kind of one of those like aha moments when you realized oh this is not as tricky or complicated as it seems it's actually pretty easy I love figuring out the way people will make things in the stores okay there we go I came back out the other side take off your safety pin and then let's do the other string now with this one it's going to go in and out on the other side so start at the other opening press your string through and try to keep it as flat as you can as you're going through so it doesn't get twisted guaranteed it's probably going to get a little twisted that's just how it goes but just try your best and when you get to this opening now it might seem a little weird because there's these other strings in it just shimmy your way through past those other strings and go back around to the other side okay we made it back to the other side as you can see here's my safety pin coming out pull it out and pull the other string and then you can kind of even these out they will shift a little bit over time but you can see one's longer than the other just pull this one just make them all even and then one last thing I like to do you don't have to but I think it's kind of fun to tie a little knot in the ends here I did finish off these edges so they're not going to fray but sometimes if you did leave them raw that would help a little bit to tie a knot and I just think it looks kind of cute cute things are important right and there you go a simple drawstring bag for more ideas and tutorials visit my website made everyday . and for more information on sewing machines go to babylock.com where it's all for the love of sewing I'll see you next time bye lhey guys it's Dana I've got another fun bag idea to share with you it's the classic drawstring sack and it comes together in a cinch drawstring bags are a really easy project to make I started seing then when my kids were little because it was a really easy thing for them to grab fill with a few toys and then they could take it in the car so they were entertained at the doctor's office or when we were out to eat at a restaurant I would just say go get your bag and they could do it all on their own I love that you can make them in any size from really little like this one to really huge whatever you want and I love making them as birthday gifts for family and friends so here's what you need a small amount of fabric and two strings you want to cut two pieces of fabric that are 14 x 15 in and you can make that any size but those are the dimensions for the bags that I just showed you now for your strings you can use all sorts of different things too what I'm using here is actually some bias tape which you'll remember from our bias tape video I just took some and I sewed down the sides of it so that everything is all enclosed and then I cut each one 42 in long that's the great size for the dimensions of this bag other things you can use is rope cording which you remember from our piping video you see everything relates back to each other so we is fun that way or something else that I really like to do is when I have scraps of fabric from say like a t-shirt I cut some strips that are about 2 in wide doesn't have to be precisely those measurements and then when you yank it really hard it kind of turns into like a little tube and makes a really cool string sometimes I'll tie a little knot in the end and then I've got some really fun strings all ready to go and it does doesn't Fray so you can just cut the end good okay let's set your strings aside and let's cut our fabric I've got my fabric folded in half with right sides together and that just makes it easier when we start pinning that the right sides are already together I'm using pinking shears to cut my fabric which are those funny little zigzag scissors and that just keeps the fabric from fraying over time with toys coming in and out of the bag with lots of usage you can also use a serger to Surge off the seams to keep those from fraying but these work just great or you could just leave the seams as they are no big deal okay I'm cutting that side I'm going to cut this side then we're going to measure 14 by 15 in let's see 14 in right there let's cut and this is fabric that I'm using from my fabric collection called Boardwalk Delight this is the ferris wheel print and you can see more about that in my video all about my fabric okay 15 in and there we go okay two pieces of fabric set that aside over here and then one thing I want to show you on these drawstring bags what makes it so unique and kind of fun is that it has this casing in the top and we need to leave a little hole in the side here for the strings to come in and out so that we can pull it closed grab a ruler and I'm using a fabric marker and first we're going to measure Down 2 in from the top so right like that just place a tiny little Mark and then measure down one more inch this is where the opening is going to be Place Another Mark simple and then do the same thing on the other side 2 in and then 1 in okay now let's pin that together and if for some reason those markings aren't standing out to you you can place extra pins right there so that you remember to leave an opening cuz if you don't leave an opening it makes it a little difficult to Cent your strings up okay let's go to our sewing machine we're going to sew this similar to how we've done a tote bag we're going to start on one side sew down sew around the bottom and come back the other side but we have to remember to leave those 1in Gap openings that we marked on our fabric so come over to your machine I'm threading mine with just a white thread you're not going to see this well you actually might see it a little bit on the outside so take that into consideration when you select a color I'm just following the markings on my machine and then I come over and and I press my little magic button here and it threads for me I love my baby lock for that reason okay we're ready to sew bring your fabric over and I'm using about a/2 in seam allowance do a little back stitch at the beginning as I'm always telling you and I'm watching for my first marking here I'm going down about 2 in and if you're going too fast you can always adjust your speed control right here and that is really great when you're trying to watch for those Mar Mar okay I see the first one I'm going to stop do a back stitch just a few come back okay then I'm just going to lift my needle move down to the next marking so I'm leaving that one inch Gap do a back stitch again and then just keep sewing going down when you get to the end pivot and turn you'll find that as you start sewing these bags that you're going to love making them and you're going to start making them for all sorts of different things these are awesome to take like it's a little garment bag if you're traveling you can put dirty clothes in it or hair things swimming suits I don't know so many different reasons for a drawstring bag okay I'm almost to my marking on the other side I'm going to slow down here do a little back stitch lift my needle move down an inch to my other marking and then sew that last little two Ines back stitch back stitch at the end cut my threads I love The Cutting feature okay now one thing I want to do is to box out these bottom corners we've done that before also in our tote bag video and I'm just going to do it real quick here not even going to press anything if you remember I'm pulling these two seams together like that to create kind of a little triangle and you can box this out whatever length you want I like to do 2 in so I'm going to mark down 2 in right here and then draw a perpendicular line perpendicular line which should be about 4 in straight across like that there you go I'm going to sew that in place go back to your machine forward and back stitch sew it down cut and then I'm going to use those pinking shears again to trim that seam that will also keep it from fraying with time I'm always saying that but it's really important when you have things that you use a lot or items that kids are going to use you want to make sure they're going to stay together well okay I'm doing the other side now bring those two corners together make your little triangle two Ines down and you don't have to do this you could just leave it flat I just like the dimension that it gives the bag and it helps things kind of I don't know have a little more room inside okay draw my line over and this marker that I'm using is a fabric marker that read the instructions on your package but typically they dissolve with water or they just disappear over time magic okay little back stitch sew down another little back stitch cut your threads trim off the excess Fabric and you don't have to trim them fabric you could actually just leave that inside that works just fine too okay now we're going to go to our iron and press out our seams okay this is what our bag looks like right now and you can see the way we boxed out the bottom looks really awesome now we want to press open the side seams and this is why using a/ inch seam allowance is really great because it gives us a little more room for that small gap opening that we left and you can see as I'm pressing it the little Gap is right there good job okay keep pressing and I'm actually just going to do the sides I'm not going to worry about the bottom so turn it right side out there we go and we're going to press under about I don't know a qu of an inch just enough to keep that top raw Edge enclosed in the casing go around to the other side okay now we're going to fold it under another about 1 and 1/2 in just enough so that it's enclosing that little opening that we left okay we'll press that in place and keep going around it might look like your casing is quite large but you'll find that once you get both of those strings in there it actually looks really good and you're going to be glad to have a little bit extra room okay you don't have to pin this in place if you think you're fine sewing without pins I'm just going to pin a couple spots and then we're going to go back to our sewing machine okay I'm sewing about 1/8 of an inch from the edge of the fabric and you can start anywhere on the casing cuz we're going to go all the way around so I do a little back stitch and to start sewing I find this is one of those projects that I tend to do last minute when my kids say Mom I have a birthday party I'm going to and it's like ah it's really great to make a little bag throw a little treat inside or maybe a little simple game and people are always amazed when you give them a handmade gift I think because so often we just buy things at the store that's really special to get something that's homemade and this is a really quick thing to make okay I'm almost back to the beginning here do a back stitch cut your threads and now we're ready to pull our strings through okay I've got my bag and I've got my two strings cut 42 in long and you can cut them whatever size works for your bag if you made a really little bag you probably want something smaller than that I just placed a safety pin on the end and that's going to help push it through the casing so go to your first opening push it in this is similar to when we made a simple skirt and we pulled elastic through the waistband just going to keep pushing it and moving it around and when you get to the other side make sure it's not caught in the seam or anything like that there we go and you'll see how it can come out that opening but we want it to go back through to the other side I love making these bags cuz the first time it was kind of one of those like aha moments when you realized oh this is not as tricky or complicated as it seems it's actually pretty easy I love figuring out the way people will make things in the stores okay there we go I came back out the other side take off your safety pin and then let's do the other string now with this one it's going to go in and out on the other side so start at the other opening press your string through and try to keep it as flat as you can as you're going through so it doesn't get twisted guaranteed it's probably going to get a little twisted that's just how it goes but just try your best and when you get to this opening now it might seem a little weird because there's these other strings in it just shimmy your way through past those other strings and go back around to the other side okay we made it back to the other side as you can see here's my safety pin coming out pull it out and pull the other string and then you can kind of even these out they will shift a little bit over time but you can see one's longer than the other just pull this one just make them all even and then one last thing I like to do you don't have to but I think it's kind of fun to tie a little knot in the ends here I did finish off these edges so they're not going to fray but sometimes if you did leave them raw that would help a little bit to tie a knot and I just think it looks kind of cute cute things are important right and there you go a simple drawstring bag for more ideas and tutorials visit my website made everyday . and for more information on sewing machines go to babylock.com where it's all for the love of sewing I'll see you next time bye l\n"