In this tutorial, I will show you how to make a fabric drawstring gift bag (both lined and unlined) – without measuring! This is an easy sewing project, perfect for beginners.
You can make these bags by folding one piece of fabric in half or using one piece for the front and one for the back. So either fold your fabric or put your ‘front’ fabric down and place your gift on top.
Estimating your fabric requirements
Consider how tall your gift is in comparison to your fabric. You’ll be adding a drawstring casing roughly a quarter of the way down your bag – give or take – so there needs to be a bit of space above your gift before the casing would start too.
I used some thin polycotton dachshund fabric for the front panels of two lined bags and the back panel and inner fabric were cut from some of my husband’s old shirts.
If you are going for an unlined bag, the next step is to hide the raw edge at the top of your bag. To do this you want to fold over the top edge twice to hide the raw edge inside.
Topstitching the Top of the Bag (unlined version only)
Press the first fold and then fold again and press again. The only thing you want to check is that the fold is roughly the same width all the way along your piece of fabric.