The Art of Sewing a Drawstring Pouch: A Step-by-Step Guide

When it comes to sewing, one of the simplest and most versatile projects is creating a drawstring pouch. This type of bag can be used for storing small treasures, gifts, or even as a storage solution for everyday items like keys, phone chargers, or makeup. In this article, we will take you through the step-by-step process of sewing a drawstring pouch, from preparing the fabric to adding a functional drawstring closure.

Preparing the Fabric

The first step in creating a drawstring pouch is to prepare the exterior fabric. Take your piece of fabric and flip it over so that the wrong side is facing up. This will ensure that the stitches are not visible on the outside of the bag. Next, take the two short ends of the fabric and fold them towards the wrong side by about three-quarters of an inch. This creates a casing for the drawstring, which will be used to close the bag.

Using the Sewing Machine

Now it's time to use your sewing machine to create the pouch. Take out your zig-zag stitch capability, as this is essential for creating a sturdy and flexible drawstring closure. Set the stitch width to 2.5 inches and the stitch length to 2.5 inches. Place the fabric under the presser foot, making sure that the wrong side of the fabric is facing up. Start stitching from the left end of the pouch, working your way along both sides until you reach the end.

Repeating on the Other Short End

Repeat the same process on the other short end of the pouch, making sure to match the top thread to the bobbin thread for a seamless finish. It's also essential to backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam to secure the fabric in place. This will ensure that the pouch stays closed and does not come undone.

Flipping and Connecting the Short Ends

Once both short ends have been zig-zag stitched, flip the pouch over to connect the two ends together. Make sure that they are aligned properly and stitch them down with a straight stitch, using a quarter-inch seam allowance. This will create the base of the bag.

Stitching Down Both Sides

To finish the bag, we need to stitch down both sides. Take your sewing machine and attach the wrong side of the fabric to the inside of the pouch. Make sure that you start just below the casing and backstitch a few times to secure it in place. Then, using a straight stitch, sew along the bottom edge of the bag to create a finished seam.

Adding the Drawstring Closure

Now it's time to add the drawstring closure. Take your two strips of fabric, one 12 inches long and one 7.5 inches long (or vice versa). Cut them along the crosswise grain to maximize stretch. Use safety pins to attach the ends of the straps to each end of the bag. To create a makeshift tie, wrap the raw edge around the center of the pouch and secure it with a knot.

Assembling the Drawstring Closure

To assemble the drawstring closure, take one end of the strap and thread it through the front casing from both sides. Then, go in from the opposite side and make a backwards letter C to come out on the other side. This creates two little pools at each end that will close when the straps are tied together.

Testing the Drawstring Closure

Once you've completed the drawstring closure, test it by cinching the straps together. If it works as expected, you know you did it right! You can adjust the length of the straps to fit your needs.

Tips and Variations

When sewing a drawstring pouch, there are several tips and variations to keep in mind:

* To maximize stretch, cut the fabric along the crosswise grain.

* Make sure to match the top thread to the bobbin thread for a seamless finish.

* Use safety pins to attach the ends of the straps to each end of the bag.

* Experiment with different colors, textures, and fabrics to create unique and personalized pouches.

By following these simple steps and tips, you can create your own functional and adorable drawstring pouches. Whether it's for storing small treasures or everyday items, a drawstring pouch is a versatile and practical solution that will keep your belongings organized and within reach.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey it's Vanessa the crafty Gemini and I'm back for day four of my 12 days of last minute DIY gifts video series now in this tutorial I'm gonna teach you how to make my quick and easy drawstring pouch now this little pouch is gonna be another quick five minute make because we're working with stretchy fabric now if you haven't worked with stretchy fabric before this is gonna be a great introductory project for you just to kind of get a feel for how the fabric handles now I do recommend that you install a ballpoint jersey needle in your sewing machine but if you don't have one it's not gonna be the end of the world just go ahead and use a universal needle and it's not gonna really hurt the project now this cotton spandex does not require any fancy finishes you don't need a serger or anything so feel free to use things like repurposed old t-shirts if you sew apparel and you have stretch knits scraps in your stash go ahead and pull them out or of course you can purchase cotton spandex and different type of stretching it blends in a variety of different colors and prints now let's go over the supplies you're gonna need to make one so we can jump right into it so all you're gonna need is one piece of fabric that measures 5 inches by 12 and a half inches long for the body of the bag and this fabric here is a double brushed polyester spandex knit and these two prints are just a cotton spandex so a variety of different types of stretch knit fabrics that you can use you can even cut up old t-shirts things like that would also work great you're also gonna need two strips that measure one and a quarter inches by the same 12 and a half and these guys we're going to use for our little string pulls here to close up the pouch then you can use either a bodkin or a safety pin aside from that you just need a sewing machine that has straight stitch and zig-zag stitch capabilities so the first step is to take your piece of fabric that's the exterior and we're gonna flip it pretty side face down so that we can turn under the two short ends both of these ends by about three quarters of an inch towards the wrong side now we'll head over to the sewing machine and we're gonna zig-zag stitch we're using a 2.5 stitch width and 2.5 stitch length for our zigzag we don't want it to be too wide and we're going to stitch close to this bottom but making sure that we're catching it through both layers of fabric and we'll repeat the same thing to the opposite short-end now I like to stitch from the wrong side here so I can see how far over I'm keeping my zigzag stitches so if you're gonna do the same thing that I'm doing make sure that you match your top thread to your bobbin thread as well because what you're actually gonna see on the right side of the little pouch is the bobbin thread and make sure you back stitch at the beginning and end now we're gonna flip this pretty side face up connect these two short ends line everything up and we're gonna stitch down both sides to seal up the bag but you want to make sure to start just below the casing and backstitch a couple of times to secure it and back stitch again when you get to the bottom side and for this I'm gonna go back to my straight stitch on my sewing machine and I'm just using a quarter of an inch seam allowance to stitch down both sides now we'll reach in through the top flip this out and you can see that the body of your bag is complete now for the drawstring part grab your safety pin and the two strips that you cut at one and a quarter inches by 12 and a half you can see that right after I cut them they're already starting to roll on themselves and most knits are going to do this when you stretch them out they will roll to the pretty side of the fabric which unfortunately covers up whatever the design is but if I just talk on them like this and the reason I have so much stretch here is because I cut these along the crosswise grain all right make sure that you're cutting perpendicular to the selvage edge so you want to get the most stretch notice this way I'll get some stretch but not quite as much as this direction if you cut it the other way and you still have a stretchy fabric it'll still work fine so don't worry too much about it so cut your strips so let the length the 12 and a half inch measurement is running along that stretchy aside when you pull it like this you're just gonna give them a good pull till they totally roll in on themselves then we'll take our safety pin and insert it on one end close it up and the two strips one you're gonna start say if I start on the right side I'm gonna go through the front casing through to the back and come out on the same side of the bag that I came out and then I'll go in from the other side and make a backwards letter C to come out on the other and that is how you end up with two little pools on each end that when you cinch them up they close the entire bag so I'm gonna go in from the front feed this through to the back one and come out on the same side so there's the first one I went in here I went around and came out on this side so leave that one there then we'll do the same thing with the other guy but instead of starting on any of the sites that have short ends on it we need to start on here so we can come back around the opposite side take this off and there you can see you can cinch it in to see if it works and once it does you know you did it right open it up and I just like to tie knots on the ends of these I just wrap it once around my finger slide it off my finger and tie a little knot and there you have it these are great for keeping all different little types of treasures small gifts and of course you can always play around with the dimensions and make these larger or even smaller if you'd like and there you have it a quick and easy drawstring pouch I hope you enjoyed this video and if you did hit it with the thumbs up below feel free to share it with any of your crafty friends and don't forget to click the subscribe button so you don't miss out on any of my future videos thanks again for watching leave me a comment below and let me know what you plan to use your little drawstring pouches for and I will see you in the next videohey it's Vanessa the crafty Gemini and I'm back for day four of my 12 days of last minute DIY gifts video series now in this tutorial I'm gonna teach you how to make my quick and easy drawstring pouch now this little pouch is gonna be another quick five minute make because we're working with stretchy fabric now if you haven't worked with stretchy fabric before this is gonna be a great introductory project for you just to kind of get a feel for how the fabric handles now I do recommend that you install a ballpoint jersey needle in your sewing machine but if you don't have one it's not gonna be the end of the world just go ahead and use a universal needle and it's not gonna really hurt the project now this cotton spandex does not require any fancy finishes you don't need a serger or anything so feel free to use things like repurposed old t-shirts if you sew apparel and you have stretch knits scraps in your stash go ahead and pull them out or of course you can purchase cotton spandex and different type of stretching it blends in a variety of different colors and prints now let's go over the supplies you're gonna need to make one so we can jump right into it so all you're gonna need is one piece of fabric that measures 5 inches by 12 and a half inches long for the body of the bag and this fabric here is a double brushed polyester spandex knit and these two prints are just a cotton spandex so a variety of different types of stretch knit fabrics that you can use you can even cut up old t-shirts things like that would also work great you're also gonna need two strips that measure one and a quarter inches by the same 12 and a half and these guys we're going to use for our little string pulls here to close up the pouch then you can use either a bodkin or a safety pin aside from that you just need a sewing machine that has straight stitch and zig-zag stitch capabilities so the first step is to take your piece of fabric that's the exterior and we're gonna flip it pretty side face down so that we can turn under the two short ends both of these ends by about three quarters of an inch towards the wrong side now we'll head over to the sewing machine and we're gonna zig-zag stitch we're using a 2.5 stitch width and 2.5 stitch length for our zigzag we don't want it to be too wide and we're going to stitch close to this bottom but making sure that we're catching it through both layers of fabric and we'll repeat the same thing to the opposite short-end now I like to stitch from the wrong side here so I can see how far over I'm keeping my zigzag stitches so if you're gonna do the same thing that I'm doing make sure that you match your top thread to your bobbin thread as well because what you're actually gonna see on the right side of the little pouch is the bobbin thread and make sure you back stitch at the beginning and end now we're gonna flip this pretty side face up connect these two short ends line everything up and we're gonna stitch down both sides to seal up the bag but you want to make sure to start just below the casing and backstitch a couple of times to secure it and back stitch again when you get to the bottom side and for this I'm gonna go back to my straight stitch on my sewing machine and I'm just using a quarter of an inch seam allowance to stitch down both sides now we'll reach in through the top flip this out and you can see that the body of your bag is complete now for the drawstring part grab your safety pin and the two strips that you cut at one and a quarter inches by 12 and a half you can see that right after I cut them they're already starting to roll on themselves and most knits are going to do this when you stretch them out they will roll to the pretty side of the fabric which unfortunately covers up whatever the design is but if I just talk on them like this and the reason I have so much stretch here is because I cut these along the crosswise grain all right make sure that you're cutting perpendicular to the selvage edge so you want to get the most stretch notice this way I'll get some stretch but not quite as much as this direction if you cut it the other way and you still have a stretchy fabric it'll still work fine so don't worry too much about it so cut your strips so let the length the 12 and a half inch measurement is running along that stretchy aside when you pull it like this you're just gonna give them a good pull till they totally roll in on themselves then we'll take our safety pin and insert it on one end close it up and the two strips one you're gonna start say if I start on the right side I'm gonna go through the front casing through to the back and come out on the same side of the bag that I came out and then I'll go in from the other side and make a backwards letter C to come out on the other and that is how you end up with two little pools on each end that when you cinch them up they close the entire bag so I'm gonna go in from the front feed this through to the back one and come out on the same side so there's the first one I went in here I went around and came out on this side so leave that one there then we'll do the same thing with the other guy but instead of starting on any of the sites that have short ends on it we need to start on here so we can come back around the opposite side take this off and there you can see you can cinch it in to see if it works and once it does you know you did it right open it up and I just like to tie knots on the ends of these I just wrap it once around my finger slide it off my finger and tie a little knot and there you have it these are great for keeping all different little types of treasures small gifts and of course you can always play around with the dimensions and make these larger or even smaller if you'd like and there you have it a quick and easy drawstring pouch I hope you enjoyed this video and if you did hit it with the thumbs up below feel free to share it with any of your crafty friends and don't forget to click the subscribe button so you don't miss out on any of my future videos thanks again for watching leave me a comment below and let me know what you plan to use your little drawstring pouches for and I will see you in the next video\n"