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Posy Garden Lined drawstring bag tutorial

Tutorial for creating Lined Drawstring pouches- great for gifts, jewelry or storage

I am so excited to be on the Posy Garden blog hop!  I have been looking forward to this for a long time and have been trying to come up with the perfect project to show off this beautiful fabric.  I decided to create some fun gift pouches I plan on using as favors at a brunch I’m hoping to pull off the first week the kids go back to school.  These lined drawstring bags are simple to make and use only a bit of fabric- plus they can be adjusted to fit your desired size as well.  They are great for gifts, storing jewelry, party favors or just as tools to organize your purse or other large spaces.  They are so fun to whip up, you’ll be making them for everything.

Before we get to the tutorial though, can we just take a moment and enjoy this beautiful fabric?  It’s just such a fun color combination with the pinks and navy, turquoise and red.  I just love this line.  It makes me want to have tea in a garden somewhere.  You can find the entire line here on the Riley Blake Designs website.

And now for the chocolate, I mean the tutorial.

Some notes before we begin:

  • This tutorial is for a bag that finishes at 6″ X 8 1/2″ (approx.) adjust your cutting measurements to accommodate a larger or smaller bag- but if you make a larger one, you will need more fabric.
  • Seam Allowances are 1/4″ unless noted. 
  • For my accent strip I pieced a strip using 1 1/2″ wide pieces of scraps, you can use this method, or just cut an accent strip from the lining fabric.

Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Supplies
fabric- 2 fat eights
ribbon- 1 yard of 1/4″ ribbon
sewing supplies
Cutting
From lining fabric- cut 2: 6 1/2″ X 9″ rectangles
From exterior main fabric- cut 1: 6 1/2″ X 9″ rectangle (for the back),
For the exterior front cut 1: 6 1/2″ X 7″ rectangle
 and 1: 1 1/2″ X 6 1/2″ strip
for accent strip (pieced or from lining fabric) cut 1: 1 1/2″ X 6 1/2″ strip
Assembly
  • Sew your front pieces together with the larger rectangle of the exterior fabric on top and the 1 1/2″ strip on the bottom of the accent piece, press seams
  • Place your bag exterior pieces right sides together.  Mark an opening on each side that is 1″ down from the top and 1/2″ wide (as marked by the red butterfly pins in the picture), these will become your openings for the ribbon drawstring. *you can adjust the placement of these openings if you like- higher or lower will change the look of your bag and change the size of the “ruffle” at the top of the bag when it is pulled shut.  Just make sure you position the opening in the same place on both sides.
  • Sew sides and bottom of bag exterior, leaving the two 1/2″ openings unsewn (back stitch at beginning and end of each line of stitching.
  •  Place lining pieces right sides together.  Mark an opening in the bottom of the lining that is 2-3″ wide (as indicated by the red butterfly pins in the picture) This will be the opening for turning the bag right side out when it’s completed.
  • Sew around the sides and bottom of the bag, leaving the marked opening unsewn.
  • Turn exterior of the bag right side out and press.
  • Slide exterior of the bag inside the lining of the bag.  Line up the side seams and pin around the top seam of the bag.
  • Sew around the top seam of the bag.
  • Pull the exterior of the bag through the opening left in the bottom of the lining and turn the lining right side out.
  • Sew the opening in the bottom of the lining shut
  • push the lining of the bag inside the exterior of the bag, press the top seam
  •  To create the ribbon channel in the bag, sew one seam at 3/4″ from top (use the opening you will find in the side seams as your guide for the top and bottom of the ribbon channel)
  • Sew a second seam 1/2″ lower from the top than the first seam.
  • Cut ribbon into two 18″ pieces
  • Use safety pin to thread ribbon through channels.  Start one ribbon on one side, bring it around the entire bag and back out the same side.  Repeat with second ribbon, but on the opposite side of the bag.  Tie off the ribbons. *notes on this process: You may have to wiggle the safety pin around a bit to get it around the seams as you are threading it, just keep pushing it around until it comes out.  Also, make sure when you are threading the second ribbon, you are keeping track of the ends of the first ribbon.  Sometimes as you are threading the second ribbon it pulls the ends of the first ribbon into the channel and you will have to fish them out.
 Fill with your favorite treats and give them away.  
Or use them as favors at a brunch (like me) or shower.
They are great to have on hand as gift wrap too. What would you use these handy bags for?
  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  If there are any questions, or if you have another tutorial you’d like to see, let me know in the comments and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
xoxo,
Amy

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