How to sew your own drawstring bag in 3 different sizes
Drawstring bags are always useful to have. They are perfect for storing all kinds of things, from dice or some sewing supplies to your kids’ toys or your knitting project. You can make them bigger or smaller depending on your needs. And when you make your own drawstring bag, you can use any type of fabric you like.
I love drawstring bags because they are the perfect bag to store odds and ends in. You can even choose the fabric to match whatever contends you have planned in there. How cute would it be to use quilting cotton with a cookie/biscuit print to store your biscuit cutters in? Or maybe a nice garden print to hold those seed markers for your garden? That is one of the things I love about living a homemade life. You can personalise and customise everything in your home.
Even though drawstring bags are perfect for storing items, you don’t just have to use them for storage. They also make the perfect sustainable reusable gift bag. Maybe you made them some homebaked biscuits or a couple of scrunchies for their birthday or as a thank you present. I can’t think of a better way to gift them those items than in a lovingly handmade drawstring bag. Can you?
So why not give these round bottom drawstring bags a try. You will only need a bit of fabric, some thread, and not even half an hour of your time.
For your round bottom drawstring bag, you will need
Because these bags don’t require a lot of fabric, it is the perfect project for some scrap busting. For the circle bottom, you can either use my downloadable pattern, use a similarly sized bowl, or use a ruler to draw the circle, as I’ll also explain in the tutorial.
- Some fabric of choice, I used some plain cotton as well as quilting cotton.
- Large drawstring bag: 16 diameter circle, with a rectangle of 52cm wide by 26cm high.
- Medium drawstring bag: 12 diameter circle, with a rectangle of 39cm wide by 22cm high.
- Small drawstring bag: 8 diameter circle, with a rectangle of 27cm wide by 18cm high.
- Some ribbon, string, or yarn, I used my own handspun yarn. For the largest bag, you will need about 70 cm and less for the smaller sizes.
- Matching thread
- Sewing machine (unless you want to sew by hand)
- Measuring tape
- Fabric scissors
- One safety pin
- Straight pins
- Seam ripper
Instructions
Step 1: Trace pattern and cut
Choose your fabric of choice, I used thin cotton fabrics. But if you want a sturdier bag, I would use a thicker woven fabric. If you also want to make all three of the bags, then you can use complementary patterns or colours for your bags.
Once you have your chosen fabric, you will want to trace your pattern. For this, you can either use a bowl that is the same size as mine. Or you can download the free pdf circle pattern. Alternatively, you can also look at the picture below where I show you how to trace a circle on fabric with nothing but a measuring tape and a fabric marker.
After having traced out your pattern, you can cut out the pieces.
Step 2: Sew the main piece together
Take your rectangular piece of fabric and fold it in half so that the fabric measures 26 by 26 centimeters. If you want to sew a regular seam, you will want to fold the fabric with the right sides together. And then sew 1 centimeter from the edge and finished the raw edge off with a zig-zag stitch.
If however, you want to sew a French seam, then you can fold the fabric with the wrong sides together. Sew a straight stitch 1 centimeter from the edge. Then cut half off the width of one of the raw edges, this will allow you to fold over the other raw edge over the first (cut) raw edge. Then fold both of them towards the fabric so that all the raw edges are hidden. And sew another straight stitch along the edge of the fold. See the picture below for more details.
Step 3: Add the circle to your cylinder
Now that you have shaped your main piece of rectangular fabric into a cylinder, you can pin the circle to the bottom of your cylinder. You will want to have your cylinder inside out to make pinning them together easiest. And to ensure all the fabric is evenly distributed, pin first the top and bottom, then the left and right sides, and lastly, the diagonal sides of the fabric.
Then sew the two pieces together with a straight stitch and finish off the raw edges with a zig-zag stitch.
Step 4: Creating the top of your drawstring bag
To create the top, you will want to fold over the top of the drawstring bag about 5 centimeters. To hide the raw edge, you will want to fold the end inwards. Then pin it into place and sew along the edge with a straight stitch.
To create the drawstring channel, you will want to sew a parallel line about one centimeter above the first line of straight stitches.
step 5: Inserting the drawstring
To be able to insert the drawstring, you will want to rip some of the stitches from the French seam we sewed earlier to create an opening into the drawstring channel.
To string your drawstring bag, you will want to attach a safety pin to one side of your string or ribbon. Then you can push the safety pin into the drawstring channel and guide it through. Then knot the two ends of the string or ribbon together, and voila, you have just created your own round bottom drawstring bag.
What are you going to store in your drawstring bag?
Now that you’ve created your drawstring bags, what will you store in them? Will you store your gardening supplies in them? Or did you make them for your children’s toys?
I had planned on using mine to store some of the clutter on my desk. But as soon as I had finished them my youngest decided they were perfect for her toys. So I suppose I will have to make myself some more round bottom drawstring bags. I would love it if you would let me know in the comments or through a DM on Instagram what you store in your drawstring bags.
Love this pattern