Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial

I have a fun tutorial for you guys today! For ages I have wanted to switch to reusable fabric gift bags for Christmas gifts and this last year was the year! We got snowed in the week before Christmas so I put that time to good use sewing up a storm. It was such a fun and quick activity with so many ways customize and really make it your own, I thought I would share a how-to for you guys. I know there are like a gazillion tutorials for gift bags out there, but I decided to do a no-stress (or significantly less stressful) version for you based on what you have at home. Then, if you too are like me and you get snowed in you can still make some gift bags!

Supplies

• Fabric- as small as a fat quarter is great! I give more dimensions and samples at the end of the tutorial, but whatever you have on hand will work. Specifically Christmas themed is great, but anything will work really.
• Drawstring: ribbon, cording, twill tape, etc. If you don’t have anything (I didn’t), you can sew up double fold bias tape and make a drawstring out of that.
• Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies (cutting mat, rotary cutter, thread, iron, etc)
• A safety pin

I bet you guys have all of these things at home!

1. Press your fabric so it is nice and smooth and flat.

2. Square your fabric edges up as much as possible. What I am working with is a half yard. I folded it in half (making it 9″ tall), made sure the center fold edge (opposite the selvedge) was nice and straight and then cut across the raw edge, lining up my ruler lines with the center fold edge as a straight measure. Then I used my bottom now straight edge to as squarely as possible trim off the selvedge edge. This got me a “squared up enough piece.” Use whatever technique you are comfortable with, and once you cut this piece into the smaller bag pieces you can square up more if needed. This is just what worked for me. Don’t stress, just get it as square as you can make it.

BTW, if you are on the fence about one of these handles for your long quilting ruler*, get it! I waited until last year to buy one and I don’t know why. It isn’t very pricey and it is such an essential tool in my sewing studio now.

3. Next we start my very low-key, low-stress, accuracy is not 100% necessary steps. For sizing, I totally winged this. I had a half yard (ish after squaring), and a 44″ width of fabric. So, I made one cut while the fabric was still folded at about 14.5″ which gave me 3 bags: two about 14.5″ by 18″, and one from the folded center at about 15″x 18″. Depending on your fabric, and what gift you need to wrap, cut your fabric to size. I know, I know, I don’t generally like it when a tutorial is like “cut as you want!” But truly, no need to be super accurate here. You will lose about an inch in width to seam allowance and another 4 inches in height with seam allowance and the drawstring pocket and folding them in half, so you can take that into consideration. Have fun with it, use your logic to maximize the fabric you have, and I have some more samples of what my fabric pieces were and what size bags I got out of them at the end of this tutorial.

5. Press the raw top edge of the fabric up about 1/4″. Once you have pressed the edge up the first 1/4″, fold it up another 1/4″ and press again to completely finish the raw edge. Repeat on the other raw edge of the fabric.

Do you have one of these handy hot rulers*? I have a couple and love them. I use them all the time too, I just keep them by my ironing station.

6. *OPTIONAL* Topstitch along the folded edge of the fabric to secure. Repeat on the other folded edge. You don’t actually have to do this step, but anywhere I can add a little more security and less chance of having to go back and re-press something when I am sewing I think it is worth the tiny amount of extra time it takes.

7. Fold the gift bag in half so that the two folded, optionally topstitched, edges line up. Measure two inches down from the top edge and mark. This is where you will start sewing. Repeat on the opposite side. If you would rather you can add a pin at 2″ instead of a mark, but whatever you prefer is fine. Pin down the rest of both sides below your mark if you would like tow help keep the sides together when you sew. It is not necessary though, I just match them up as I go. I use Frixon pens* for marking and I always keep this 3.5″ Omnigrid ruler* by my sewing machine for making marks, estimating, and measuring the corners when I am binding a quilt. It gets used a lot!

8. Starting at your 2″ down mark (NOT the top edge!) and using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew down the side of the bag. Make sure to back tack at the beginning and end of the seam for added durability. Yes, 1/2″ seam allowance. It adds a little extra room for the next step when you fold and finish that 2″ section to create the casing for the drawstring. You can do less seam allowance if you would rather, but I did both 1/4″ and a 1/2″ seam allowance when I was sewing my bags and much preferred the little bit of extra room. Repeat on the opposite side of the gift bag, again starting at that 2″ down mark and using a 1/2″ seam allowance..

9. Press open the seam you just sewed and fold over the open 2″ edge to match with your seam line. Repeat on the opposite side. This finishes the edge on the drawstring casing. You don’t have to use one, but do you have one of these tailor’s hams*? After sewing for right around 30 years at this point, I finally broke down and bought one. Holy cow I love it! And I use it just about every time I am pressing anything now. Who knew I needed it?! I am thinking about getting the long skinny version* as well.

10. Sew around the edges you just pressed over. Start on the top of one side, sew down to just past where the seam begins, turn and sew across the seam, and then sew back up the other side. Repeat on the other side of the bag. Nicely finished ends for your casing!

11. Use your iron and press the top of the bag so that the folded edge (that we optionally sewed in Step 6) lines up with the beginning of the seam on both sides. It will essentially half the top part before the seam starts. This doesn’t have to be super accurate, close enough will do. And, once you have pressed one side, it is super easy to press the other side by flipping the bag over and just matching up the folds so they are the same height as you press.

12. Topstitch along the optionally topstitched folded edge to create the drawstring casing. I sew on the inside of the bag about 1/8″ away from the edge. If you want you could line this seam up with your optional seam from Step 6, but I’m not that accurate. Repeat on the other side of the bag. Make sure you are only sewing the one side of the top of the bag as you go! If you have a free arm on your machine this would be an excellent place to use it. This machine does not have a free arm so I just flatten it as best as possible and push it through.

13. It is time to add your drawstring! I used ribbon on these, but I made double fold bias tape on the other bags that I made over Christmas break when we were snowed in. I am assuming you know how to make bias tape if you have decided to go that route. If not, if you google “how to make double fold bias tape” you can find lots of tutorials.

To determine your ribbon/bias tape/closure length multiple the width of the finished bag by 4. This bag is about 13.5″ wide, so I cut two ribbons 54″ long. (This is a 3/8″ red grosgrain ribbon if you wanted to know) I tied a knot on all 4 ends and then squirted a little Stop Fraying* on my finger and dipped the ends in it. I would like to say I let the glue dry before I kept going with my project, but I did not. I just kept going with wet ribbon ends.

14. I put a safety pin through the ribbon behind the knot to help me thread it through the casing. Then I picked a side and started threading.

15. When you get to the other open edge of the casing, turn the ribbon back the other direction and thread it through the other casing. Tah-dah! One ribbon done.

16. Repeat on the other side. If the first ribbon gets stuck on the new ribbon and starts to pull out of the casing on this step you can tie the first two ends in a loose slip knot to keep them in place as you add the second ribbon. Once both ribbons are in you can adjust them so all fours ties are approximately the same length.

17. Finished reusable fabric gift bag! Yeah! And don’t feel like they have to be just for Christmas, you can really use these cuties for just about anything.

Check out my samples! Hopefully they will inspire you to get creative and help you get a better idea of what kind of sizes you can get from the fabric you have laying around.

These are the three gift bags I made with the fabric I cut for this tutorial. I added the grosgrain ribbon on the one I showed you above, used some pre-made holiday double fold bias tape I found on clearance at Joann’s after Christmas for another, and a silky beading cord with wooden beads tied on the ends for the third. These came out about 13.5″ wide by 11.25″ tall.

These are a couple of the bags I made when we were snowed in and we actually used these for Christmas! The big one, with Santa riding on a unicorn, is about 22″ wide and 24″ tall and has polka dot double fold bias tape cords. I think it is my favorite of all the ones I have made, mainly because I think that fabric is so ridiculously cute. The smaller one is about 10″ wide and 9.5″ tall. It was fabric I had leftover from when I made our stockings….I think in 2014? Fabric hoarders for the win!

I love this adorable Christmas car fabric and have been holding on to a half yard to make into something special, probably also since, ahem, 2014. For this set I wanted a taller bag so I cut the half yard into two strips that were 12.5″ wide and then instead of folding the fabric in half, I only folded one edge and then ran a zig-zag stitch across and sewed the bottoms together to give myself more length with the amount of fabric I had. Then with the leftover part of the half yard I cut down the folded edge so I had two smaller bags instead of one bigger one like in the tutorial above. The bigger one measures 11.5″ wide by 15.5″ tall and the two littles are just under 7″ wide and 7.25″ tall. The smaller bags are a great size for stocking stuffers or gift cards. And, I used 3/8″ grosgrain ribbon on all three of these. On the big one and one of the smaller ones instead of tying knots in all of the ends, I waited until I had the ribbon through the casing and then just tied one knot with both ends of ribbon on both sides. This can be helpful if your ribbons are wanting to come out of the casings with usage.

I love this retro flannel! The flannel makes for a really fun feel to your gift bag. For these I had a 3/4 yard cut of this fabric. I divided it into four strips as evenly as possible and got four 9″ wide by 11.5″ tall bags when they were finished. I like this size, but it is definitely on the smaller side. I did a variety of ties, including this silky ribbon I just ordered from Amazon*, and a white grosgrain. I left some ties loose with knotted ends, tied some together, and added cute white wooden beads I found at Hobby Lobby to one. These will probably get handed out with some family and friend gifts this year. (Also, look at me working ahead for Christmas in JANUARY!! Holy smokes, that has never happened before. Ever. Note even close.)

I wanted to show you what a fat quarter would create, so this one is made from a fat quarter. I just squared it up and cut it in half. Then I zig-zaged and then sewed the bottom edges together instead of folding the fabric in half. You certainly could get two smaller gift bags if you went that way and it would totally work as well. This one measures 9″ wide and 14.5″ tall (my fat quarter was a bit undersized once I squared it). I have always admired twill tape closures when I see them on projects, so since I knew I was making these, I ordered some of this twill tape from Amazon* when I ordered my red ribbon I mentioned above.

And finally, I wanted to show you what a yard of fabric would get you. I cut the yard into thirds, again right about 14-14.5″ like I did in the tutorial above. These came out at 13″-ish wide and 16″ tall. I used the twill tape I linked above, and then also a natural cording I had. These are an excellent all around size. If I was only making one generic size, this is what I would make. So, note to self: if you fall in love with some cute Christmas fabric you are not sure what to do with, but definitely needs to come home from the fabric store with you, buy a yard (or two!).

Friends! This has been so fun for me to work on and share! I hope this gets your creative juices flowing and can act as a jumping off point and blank slate for all of your amazing craftiness! Let me know in the comments below about all of the gift bags that you make!

Happy Sewing!

*Links marked with * are affiliate links that I earn a small commission from at no cost to you in order to help me keep my blog, and free tutorials like this, going. Thank you for your support!