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The (unlined) puppy drawstring bag
  A few weeks ago, I came across some fabulous vintage wood blocks at the Burlington Antique Show. I knew they’d be perfect for my Max, who is in a major block-stacking phase, so I bought a dozen and stashed them away for his birthday. As his 2-year birthday (which was yesterday!) drew closer and I started wrapping presents, I realized that what I really needed was a little drawstring bag to put them in, so they didn’t wind up scattered everywhere. Finding the fabric was easy (puppies!). But it took me a while to remember how to make a drawstring bag, where the drawstring cinches up from each side. I knew I had made one in home ec many years ago. But to actually figure out where to put the buttonholes and how to thread the cording, I had to scrutinize a little drawstring jewelry pouch of mine. I discovered that it’s actually super easy to make a basic drawstring bag!

The puppy one I made isn’t lined (it is just for blocks, after all), so I had to fold the top down to create a casing. No problem.

But as I’ve been prepping for the big CHA Craft Supershow  this week, I realized that having another drawstring bag—one to store some of my make-and-take supplies in—would be great. But this one needed to be lined (and not have puppies on it). I discovered that the cool thing about lining it is that you don’t even have to fold the fabric down to create a casing—the layers of fabric automatically create a space for your drawstring. I also decided to add a little tab for hanging the bag up (so that I don’t have to hang by the cording). I love my drawstring bags so much, I might just switch to all-drawstring, all-the-time! I’d really like to incorporate some vintage elements, like handkerchiefs (like I’m thinking of using a handkerchief to make a mini drawstring bag to hold my iPod when it’s not on my armband).

  I’m working on writing the directions to make this a bonus project on the site. That’s coming soon!

Update: pattern is now on the site here!


Bonus update: Here is a lovely rainbow patchworked example of the drawstring bag from Christina at the Mama's Crafts blog.
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Lined drawstring bag, made with some Michael Miller prints
7/29/2010 09:08:31 am

Love the drawstring back and cannot wait for a pattern or tutorial. Sew cute! Thanks for sharing!
carla
www.ohsewaddicted.com

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11/19/2010 11:04:42 am

That is such a cool bag! I will definitely be looking forward to your pattern! Thanks for sharing this.

XOXO,

Cyndi

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8/8/2011 01:07:47 pm

I came across your pattern and loved it! I made a rainbow patchwork version of the bag and it turned out great. I blogged about it here: http://craftymama-cradke.blogspot.com/2011/07/drawstring-bag-with-liner-rainbow-style.html

This pattern is perfect for what I wanted to do - thanks :)

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Cradke
8/18/2011 07:45:33 am

The link above for Mama's Crafts doesn't work (bonus update)

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Judi
8/18/2011 01:38:01 pm

Okay, now it should work (it was showing up as a link in the edit version, but not published version. But now it looks like it is. Sorry about that!
Judi

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9/14/2012 09:15:51 pm

On clothing and bags, an aglet is usually at the end of a drawstring to prevent unravelling, and a cord lock can be used on a drawstring to keep it taut. A safety pin, bodkin, or crochet hook can be used to pull a drawstring through a hole. Thanks for sharing.

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10/16/2012 09:34:30 am

I love those bags! They look amazing, I might have to look at trying to source some for myself! Thanks for sharing with us all.

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