Welcome to the fourth and final week of the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along!

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


This week's task is finishing our bags! Tackle those drawstring casings, make fabric ties or prep twill/paracord ties. Pull ties through the bags and finish them off with a simple knot or some fun beads! A few posts you might find helpful this week:

- Marking the drawstring casings can be time consuming, especially if you're making a lot of bags. I have a video tutorial for an alternative marking technique that is my go-to method. Find it here: Alternative Method for Marking the Drawstring Casing

- If you're like me and you don't have a free-arm on your sewing machine, I have a video tutorial for how to sew the drawstring casings. Find it here: How to Sew a Drawstring Casing Without a Free-Arm Sewing Machine

- Using beads and want to take them to the next level? I have a tutorial all about how to customize unfinished wooden beads. Find it here: How to Customize Wooden Beads with Paint, Stain, and Dye

- You've made your bags and now you're ready to gift them, why not use some reusable gift tags too! I share five different ideas for tagging your bags in this post: Reusable Gift Tag Ideas for Drawstring Bags

- Working with Paracord can be intimidating if you've never used it before, I've got a post that breaks down the basics for you: Tips for Working with Paracord

- I also have a similar post for using cotton twill tape for ties: All About Cotton Twill Tape and How to Use it for Drawstring Bags

- Dress up plain cotton twill tape with some dye: Tie-Dye Twill Tape Tutorial


Today I have a new bag size to share with you, to finish off the sew along! This is a flat bag without any gussets, which means it comes together really fast. This bag uses up one (or two) leftover 12" quilt blocks. Most of us have a few kicking around our stash, so I thought it would be fun to make a bag that uses those up! Especially if you're making bags for wrapping gifts, it can be nice to have a few flat bags on hand.


Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly
Finished Size: Approx. 16.5" tall by 12" wide

Materials:
- 12.5"x12.5" unfinished quilt block
- 1 fat quarter for exterior main (or a second quilt block for the back!)
- 1/4 yard for accent (or fat quarter)
- 1/2 yard for interior
- 1/8 yard fabric or 2 yards of twill tape for ties
- Coordinating thread

Cutting:
From Exterior Main Fabric:
- Cut (1) 12.5"x12.5" piece

From Exterior Accent Fabric:
- Cut (2) 5"x12.5" pieces

From Interior Fabric:
- Cut (2) 17"x12.5"

If using fabric for ties:
- Cut (2) 36”x2” strips

If using twill for ties:
- Cut (2) 36" pieces


For bag construction, refer to the free tutorial or the lined drawstring bag pattern. You'll be using the quilt block as an Exterior Main piece.

The depth for these bags is 0, so you can skip steps 6-8 and proceed to step 9. If you need extra guidance on the construction, please refer to the video tutorial.



The other side of this bag is totally different! I combined this week's tutorial with the Scrappy Color Blocked Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial I shared last week. All the canvas I used for the back and the accents was from my scrap bin, yay!



Here is another block bag I made when I was testing this idea, this one is made with all fabrics from my Curiosities collection.

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)!

Don't forget to pin this post to your Pinterest for future reference!


Happy Sewing!

Scrappy Color Blocked Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Welcome to the third week of the 2025 Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along!

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


Before we dive into the post, let's talk about our to-do list for week 3 of the sew along!

This week's main task is sewing. Sew your bags through step 10. If you're making a lot of bags and you're short on time, I highly recommend making them assembly line style. A few posts from the archives you might find helpful this week:

- I recorded a video tutorial that covers making the bags from start to finish. It's a bit long, but it's meant to be comprehensive! It covers everything from cutting to finishing. Find it here: Lined Drawstring Bag Video Tutorial

- If you need a little extra guidance when it comes to the gussets, I have a video for that too! Find it here: How to Put a Gusset on a Bag Video Tutorial

- Want your bags to have extra structure? Check out this post: Tips for Sturdy Lined Drawstring Bags

- Add a special detail to your gussets with this tutorial for exposed gussets that I think is rather cute: Exposed Gusset Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial

- Check out this post that will help make your drawstring casing openings extra tidy: Tips for Tidy Drawstring Casing Openings


Today I want to share my scrappy color blocked bags with you! This idea has been kicking around my brain for a while, just waiting to be sewn up! I think there are a lot of directions you could take this, it's a great way to use up small pieces of stash or even scraps.

Make Your Own: The concept is pretty straightforward and will work with any of the sizes from the free tutorial or the lined drawstring bag pattern. Simply use a different color or fabric for each piece! My bag uses 6 fabrics, one for each accent piece, one for each exterior main piece, and one for each interior piece. You could even take it a step further and use two different colored ties!



For my first color blocked bag I decided to use all solids to really show off the idea in a high contrast way.



For my second color blocked bag I used prints. Instead of using all different colors for the two sides of the bag, I chose one color for the Exterior Main and one color for the Exterior Accent.


At first glance it looks pretty much like a typical lined drawstring bag.



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)!

Don't forget to pin this post to your Pinterest for future reference!

Happy Sewing!

Tree Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Welcome to week two of the 2025 Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along!

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 two of the sew along!

The main task for this week is cutting! Finalize your fabric choices and cut out all the pieces for your bags. Here are a few posts from the archives that you might find helpful:

- If you're not comfortable using a rotary cutter, or just want to streamline your process, you won't want to miss my post on making templates for cutting out your bags. Find it here: Making Templates for the Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern

- Looking for ways to dress up your bag? Check out these tutorials: How to Use Trim or Ribbon to Embellish Your Drawstring Bags and Adding an Exterior Pocket.


I'm excited to share that shipping in my online shop has resumed! I have limited inventory of Cotton Twill Tape, Nylon Paracord, Round Wooden Beads, and Beehive Wooden Beads available.


Almost every year of the Sew Along I share a tutorial for a holiday themed quilt block to add to the front of a drawstring bag! This year I decided on a Tree Block! This is a simple paper pieced block.

Here are the corresponding tutorials:
- Present Quilt Block Drawstring Bag Free Tutorial
- Patchwork Star Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
- Gingerbread House Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
- Wreath Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Tree Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Sewing Level: Intermediate
Finished size: Approx. 10" tall, 7" wide, 3" deep

Tree Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Materials:
- 1 Fat quarter for Exterior Main*
- 1 Fat quarter for Exterior Accent
- 1 Fat quarter for Interior
- Scraps for paper pieced block
- Tree Paper Pieced Block Pattern
- 2 yards of 1/2" twill tape, nylon paracord or 1/8 yd fabric
- Coordinating thread
- Acrylic ruler
- Large safety pin
- Pencil

*I would recommend using a non-directional fabric for the exterior main, which also serves as the background in the gingerbread house block.

Looking for supplies? Check out my Pattern Supplies and Resources post.

Tree Quilt Block Cutting
Tree Trunk:
- Cut (1) 2.5"x2" piece for spot 1

Tree:
- Cut (1) 5"x6" piece for spot 4

Background (Exterior Main):
- Cut (2) 2.75"x2" pieces for spots 2 and 3
- Cut (2) 4"x8" pieces for spots 5 and 6

Tree Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Cutting
From Exterior Main Fabric:
- Cut (1) 9”x10.5” piece
- Cut (2) 6.5"x2.5" side pieces
- Cut (1) 1"x10.5" top piece
- Cut (1) 2.5"x10.5" bottom piece

From Exterior Accent Fabric:
- Cut (1) 4”x21” strip
- Subcut into (2) 4”x10.5” pieces

From Interior Fabric:
- Cut (1) 12.5”x21” strip
- Subcut into (2) 12.5”x10.5” pieces

If using fabric for ties:
- Cut (2) 32”x2” strips

If using twill for ties:
- Cut (2) 32" pieces

Tree Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Instructions:

*Use a 1/4” seam allowance unless otherwise noted*

1. Before constructing the bag, we first need to make the Tree Block. The block is paper pieced, you can download the free block pattern here: Tree Paper Pieced Block Pattern

If you're new to paper piecing, be sure to check out my paper piecing tutorial.

2. Remove papers from block and trim to 6.5" square. Press well.

Now it's time to add the borders to the Tree Quilt Block.

3. Sew the two 6.5"x2.5" side exterior main pieces to either side of the block. Press seams away from block.

4. Sew the 1"x10.5" top side exterior main piece to the top edge of the block. Press seams away from block. Sew the 2.5"x10.5" bottom side exterior main piece to the bottom edge of the block. Press seams away from block. Trim piece to 9"x10.5" if necessary. This is the Exterior Main piece for one side of the bag.

Optional: You may choose to add additional structure to your patchwork with a lightweight interfacing. I would recommend something like SF101 by Pellon, and interfacing both Exterior Main pieces.

For the bag construction, refer back to the free tutorial or the everything size in the lined drawstring bag pattern, start at step 1.


I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial! I can't wait to see your bags! Please share them with me on instagram @jenib320 or via email (jenib320 @ gmail.com)!

Don't forget to pin this post to your Pinterest for future reference!

Happy Sewing!

Upcycling Materials for Lined Drawstring Bags

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)!

Don't forget to pin this post to your Pinterest for future reference!


Happy Sewing!

HST Leftovers Free Baby Quilt Pattern

Happy Monday! Today I have a finished quilt and a free baby quilt tutorial to share with you! I recently made a baby quilt for one of Michael's co-workers and decided to use it as an opportunity to write a tutorial! It's the same design as the Leftovers Quilt I made last year.


The first quilt (the Leftovers Quilt shown above) I made in this design started from a desire to use up a pile of leftover half-square triangles. I had a good number, but not quite enough to make a healthy throw quilt. I thought about just making more half-square triangle blocks, but instead decided to extend the blocks by making them into (almost) quarter square triangle blocks. The blocks are made with one half-square triangle and one print square. So you end up with a block that has a half triangle and two quarter triangles.


Specifically for this baby quilt version I knew I wanted to use a bunch of black and white fabrics. Nowadays there are lots of high-contrast things for newborns, so I thought it would fun to feature high contrast prints in a baby quilt. Of course I had to add a few pops of color too.


The baby quilt I'm sharing in this tutorial is 40" square and has 5" finished blocks. You could make this quilt larger (or smaller), by making more blocks or by making the blocks larger. If you're using up leftover half-square triangles from your stash, just match them up with fabric squares of the same size!


I kept the quilting simple (as usual!) with some straight lines on either side of the seams.


The backing is one of my prints from Geometric Bliss.


For the binding I was able to use up a bunch of binding scraps that matched! Very satisfying.


To gift this baby quilt I made a drawstring bag to match! This is an Artist size bag from my lined drawstring bag pattern, which is my favorite size for baby quilts.

Half-square Triangle Leftovers Baby Quilt Tutorial:

Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly
Finished Size: 40"x40"
Finished Block Size: 5"x5"

Materials:
- 1 yard total Colorful Fabrics
- 5/8 yard Black Fabric
- 5/8 yard Background Fabric
- 48"x48" quilt batting
- 2 2/3 yards of backing fabric
- 1/3 yard of binding fabric

Cutting:
From Colorful Fabrics:
- Cut a total of (32) 6" squares

From Black Fabric:
- Cut a total of (16) 6.5" squares

From Background Fabric:
- Cut a total of (16) 6.5" squares

Half-square Triangle Leftovers Baby Quilt Instructions:
*Use a 1/4” seam allowance unless otherwise noted.*

Block Construction:

1. Make Half-square Triangle Blocks: Using a marking pen or a pencil, draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of all 6.5” background squares. Place one 6.5" background square and one 6.5" black square right sides together. Stitch 1/4" on both sides of the marked line. Cut apart on the marked line to create two half-square triangles. Press seams open. Do not trim blocks at this time. Repeat with remaining squares to make a total of 32 half-square triangle blocks.


2. Make Quarter Square Triangle Blocks: Using a marking pen or a pencil, draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of all 6” colorful fabric squares. Place one 6" colorful fabric square and one untrimmed half-square triangle block (from step one) together, so that the line marked on the colorful fabric square and the seam on the half-square triangle block are perpendicular to one another. Stitch 1/4" on both sides of the marked line. Cut apart on the marked line to create two quarter-square triangle blocks. Press seams open.



Trim blocks to 5.5" square. To make sure the center of your block ends up in the center after trimming, line up the center seam intersection with the mark that's half the trim size, so in this case 2.75".


This method creates two blocks that match, but are not identical. To make laying out the quilt top easier, let's call these A blocks and B blocks.

Repeat with remaining squares and half-square triangle blocks to create 64 quarter-square triangle blocks.

Quilt Top Construction:

1. Arrange blocks into 8 rows of 8 blocks each, using the photo above as a guide. To create the secondary pattern with the black and white fabrics you'll need to alternate A and B blocks in each row. The odd numbered rows will start with an A block, the even numbered rows will start with a B block.


2. Sew blocks together in each row. Press seams in one direction, alternating direction every other row. Sew rows together, press as desired. Press top well from the right side.

Quilt Assembly and Finishing:

1. Backing: Cut backing yardage in half. Press. Trim off the selvedges and sew pieces together lengthwise. Press seam open.

2. Basting: Using masking or painter’s tape, tape the backing to a clean, hard surface, right side down. Spread out your batting on top of the backing. Smooth out any wrinkles. Carefully spread out your quilt top on top of the batting, right side up. Pin your top, I like to use curved safety pins, spacing the pins a few inches apart. Make sure that your pins are going through all three layers.

3. Quilting: Quilt as desired, by machine or by hand. Trim away excess batting and backing fabric.


4. Binding: Cut yardage listed for binding into 2.5” strips. Trim off selvedges and sew your strips together to form one long strip, press seams open. Fold in half lengthwise, pressing with your iron as you fold. Attach binding using your preferred method. For a detailed tutorial on attaching your binding to both sides by machine: Machine Quilt Binding Tutorial.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial! I have lots of other tutorials for everything from quilts, pillows, bags, and holiday items to informational series and techniques. Find all my tutorials here: Tutorials. My online shop is filled with patterns for quilts and bags. Find my patterns here: Jeni Baker Patterns

Tag me @jenib320 and use my hashtag #jenibaker on instagram if you make something from this tutorial!

Don't forget to pin this post to your Pinterest for future reference!


Happy Quilting!