Welcome to week one of the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! I'm excited to finally kick off our annual sew along today! Sew along with us for the next four weeks and make some gift bags for the holidays! Today's post is all about using upcycled materials.
I'll be updating the Sew Along Page each week with all the posts so that you can easily catch up or reference these posts after the sew along ends!
I hope you'll sew along with us! Sew from the tutorial or the patterns:
Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern
Here are a few to-do items for week one of the sew along!
The main goal for this week is to plan out the bags you'll be making. Figure out how many bags you'd like to make, which sizes and choose fabrics. Here are a few posts from the archives that you might find helpful:
- My tips for choosing fabrics, specifically for drawstring bags. This post includes a bunch of sample fabric pulls too. Find it here: Tips for Choosing Fabrics for Drawstring Bags
- Guidance for making drawstring bags for wrapping gifts. There are also some gift ideas for each size, to give you an idea of what would fit in all the different sizes: Tips For Using Drawstring Bags to Wrap Gifts
- There are a few other bag sizes outside of the tutorial or pattern, you don't want to miss then! The Book Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial, Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial and the Knit Drawstring Shoe Bag Tutorial.
- Can't decide what to make? I recommend checking out my Lined Drawstring Bag Pinterest Board. You'll find lots of finished bags to inspire you!
The last few years I have really been enjoying the challenge of upcycling material for my sewing projects. For me personally this means both purchasing fabric second hand and salvaging fabric that has another purpose. It's been really satisfying and has helped make my craft more sustainable. Today I want to share some upcycled drawstring bags that I've made to inspired you to upcycle for your next drawstring bag!
Unlined Tote Bags
I have had a small stash of unlined tote bags in my closet for years that I just don't reach for, but can't bear to get rid of. This Fall I realized I should cut them up and turn them into drawstring bags! I know they'll get a lot more use for me like this.
Tablecloths
Tablecloths make great fabric for drawstring bags, especially the larger sizes! Typically they're made of fabrics thicker than quilting cotton, so you get some added structure as a bonus!
Napkins
I've used a few napkin pairs to make small bags, since I typcially like to have 4+ in a fabric to actually use at the table. I belive these napkins were older ikea!
Sheets/pillowcases
Of course I've made lots of bags from vintage sheets and pillowcases! And I'm sure I'll make many more. I was afraid the fabric would be a little too thin to make good bags, but I was wrong, they're great!
Button Down Shirts
These two bags were made from thrifted button down shirts! I had fun reusing the pockets for the fronts too. So many possibilities here!
Aprons
Another repurposed pocket opportunity with this sweet vintage apron!
Leftover Quilt Blocks
I had a few blocks leftover after making this quilt, so I stitched them together and cut the Exterior Main pieces from it. A fun way to use them up.
A few other ideas I'd like to try out: tea towels, jeans, t-shirts, curtains, seasonal flags, receiving blankets, towels.
I hope you've enjoyed this post! I can't wait to see your bags! Please share them with me on instagram @jenib320 or via email (jenib320 @ gmail.com)!
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