Deece's Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial

An anytime drawstring / pull-to-wrap gift bag tutorial, just for you!

A few years ago, my friend Lyn described a fun little gift bag to me. And this is what I came up with - I love it! I currently use it as a gift bag, but I'd like to modify it in the future to use it as a lunch bag or a tupperware wrap. 

This bag and tutorial are for personal use only.

Skill level: Beginner

Materials:
-two equal size squares of fabric (outside and lining)
-coordinating thread
-two equal lengths of coordinating ribbon, just longer than the perimeter of the fabric

The squares I used in this tutorial were 9.5" each. I also sewed one of my tags onto the right side of the lining fabric. (The picture below shows two sets of fabric squares, small and large.)






















Pin your squares right sides together.


















Sew around the squares, but leave a gap of about three inches in the middle of one of the sides. The yellow lines that are perpendicular to the fabric indicate the gap. The other yellow lines show where you need to sew. You can use whatever seam allowance you like. I used a narrow 3/8" seam allowance for this tutorial.






















When you come to a corner, turn the wheel so your needle inserts into the fabric, lift the presser foot and turn your fabric. Then lower the presser foot and continue sewing.















This is what the top should look like when you're finished sewing around. See the unsewn gap? (I had some tension issues, but it seemed to work out.)














Then turn your bag right side out through the opening.
























Some people have fancy point turners that they use to push out the corners, I use chopsticks.

















Next, press your bag flat. Be sure to neatly fold in the seams of the opening.




















Pin the opening closed.
















Then sew around the bag as close to the edge as you can. All the way around, okay? Not just the opening.
























Lay your bag down so the lining is down and the outside is facing up. Then turn one corner about an inch down and pin it in place (the main fabric turns down onto itself and now some of the lining is visible on the outside of the bag). Do this to all of the corners.























Sew along the yellow dashed line, from one perpendicular line to the other. Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end to lock the stitches in place. You definitely don't want this to come undone because this is where your drawstring will go.

I sew directly on top of the existing stitches so there is only one line of stitches. This is what one of the finished corners should look like:



















Next, cut two equal lengths of ribbon that are just longer than the perimeter of the bag.
























Attach a small safety pin to the end of one of the ribbons and thread it through all four corners.
















Tie the two ends of the ribbon together when the ribbon comes back to its starting point. Then do the same thing with the other ribbon. Thread them so they tie on opposite sides of the bag.




















To use the bag, turn it over so the lining is facing up. Place your gift in the middle of the bag. This one is the perfect size for two of my 2 oz. Island Flavor jams - reduced sugar mango jam and coconut jelly. Yum!
























Hold onto the two knotted ends and pull up to close.
























Then tie it into a cute little bow.
























And that's it! I would love to see what fabric combinations you use and what gifts you fill them with.