Colourful

Colourful

Friday, 15 January 2016

Drawstring Bag Tutorial

This is going to be my first step by step. I am a little worried because I’ve never made a drawstring bag before but I suppose there’s a first time for everything! I am making this for a game where you draw a name out of a bag and try to describe who they are to your team mates, great game!!! Anyway I’ve gathered some bits and bobs and I’ll write as I go so I don’t miss anything out and let’s see what we get!

I am starting with:
o   Red fabric for the outer and the lining but you could have contrasting fabrics just make sure if you fabric has a directional pattern that you orientate the pattern the right way!
o   Fabric scissors and pinking shears
o   A ruler
o   2 metres of 5mm black cord
o   Sewing machine (you could sew by hand if you wanted)


I need to decide how big the bag. Mine has to be big enough for the name cards to be shaken up and a hand to draw the names out. So I’m going to go with an A4 size bag (nice and easy, everyone knows how big that is!!!) Just remember whatever size you choose to take into account the seam allowance, I am going to use the 10mm mark on my machine.

1.   Cut 2 outer and 2 inner fabric pieces. Pin the 2 outer pieces together, right sides facing, and stitch round three sides. Pin the 2 inners together, right sides facing, and stitch around three sides but leave a gap the bottom edge big enough to turn the fabric through when you stitch the inner to the outer (2-3 inches is a good size).


2.   At this point you could press your seams open and make it easier to thread your cord at the end but I haven’t. I did trim the excess fabric from the seam and the corners so the bag lining sits better. Then turn the outer the right way round (right side out) and put it inside the lining so the right sides are touching (my outer bag and lining are the same colour so I couldn’t photograph this!). Pin around the top then sew round remembering your seam allowance then pull the outer bag through the gap you left at the bottom.



Slip stitch the gap and push the lining into place and iron flat. You should now have a beautiful lined bag!


I need to decide where I want the drawstring bit and I need to be accurate so I am going to measure it!

3.   Measure and inch down from the opening and mark all the way around the bag, then from that mark another inch down all the way around.


Stitch along both marks to create a channel for the cord or ribbon. If the cord or ribbon is thicker you will need to adjust the width of the channel.


Unpick the seam between the channel stitches to create the holes where the cord or ribbon with go through.



4.   You will need two pieces of ribbon or cord. Thread one end through one of the openings, round the whole bag and out through the same opening. Thread the other piece through the other opening and repeat. Tie off however you like.



Well there you go, a drawstring bag from start to finish. Hope it goes well for you and my instructions are clear and easy to follow. Enjoy J




Oh, a little celebration please for this being my 10th post!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment