One rectangle of cotton, a length of ribbon, and about twenty minutes. That is the whole project. A drawstring bag is usually the sew people learn first, because there is no lining, no zipper and no pattern piece to trace. You hem the four edges, fold the piece in half, and stitch up the sides.
This follows Erica Arndt's method: one piece of quilting cotton cut 12 inches by 28 inches, folded into a bag about 12 by 13 with a casing across the top. A yard of fabric gives you four of them, which is why it is the project people reach for when teacher gifts are due.
Every seam here is straight. If you are brand new to the machine, how to use a sewing machine and sewing a straight line cover the two things this project leans on.
What you need
Most of this is already in a basic sewing box.
- Quilting cotton, one piece 12 inches by 28 inches
- Twill ribbon or cord, about 28 inches long and a quarter inch wide
- All-purpose or 50wt cotton thread
- Iron and an ironing surface
- Rotary cutter, quilting ruler and cutting mat, or sharp fabric scissors
- One large safety pin
Quilting cotton behaves best here. It presses crisp, holds a fold, and the bag still scrunches. Canvas and duck cloth work too, and they are thick enough that you turn each raw edge once instead of twice. If your cutting is rusty, cutting fabric accurately is worth a read first.
The hem is the whole trick
This bag has no lining, so every raw edge would fray if it were left alone. Rolling each edge under a quarter inch twice buries the raw fibers inside the fold, and one line of topstitching locks them there. Four short seams, and it is the difference between a bag that survives the wash and one that sheds threads in your suitcase. Erica eyeballs the fold instead of measuring it. The fold only has to be even against itself, so a wobble of a sixteenth of an inch will never show.
Make it any size you like
The 12 by 28 rectangle is a starting point, not a rule. Your fabric width becomes the bag width. The length folds in half, so half the length is the height, minus whatever the casing eats. Want a bag for shoes? Cut 16 by 36. A little jewelry pouch? Cut 7 by 16. Add three inches to the length on taller bags so the casing stays generous.
Choosing the drawstring
Twill tape, grosgrain ribbon, cotton cord and a strip of the same fabric all work. Match the casing depth to the cord: a quarter-inch ribbon slides through a casing folded about an inch and a quarter, while a chunky cord wants closer to two inches. Cut the ends at an angle so they feed without catching.
Length matters more than people expect. Lay the cord across the bag, back again, then add three inches at each end for the knot. One cord knotted in a loop pulls the bag shut from one side. Run a second cord in from the opposite opening and the top gathers evenly, which matters on anything bigger than a pencil case.
Where it usually goes wrong
- Sewing the casing openings shut. Side seams start below the casing stitching line, never at the top edge. Backstitch there and stop.
- Pulling the safety pin back out the way it went in. On the second pass, hold the tail down with your other hand.
- Skipping the press. An unironed fold shifts under the presser foot and your topstitching wanders off it.
- Mismatched casings. Fold both ends the same amount before you sew either one, or the top of the bag sits crooked.
The same rectangle logic scales into other beginner sews. A pillowcase is the same hems and side seams at a bigger size, a scrunchie uses the same casing idea in a loop, and a zipper pouch is next when you want a closure that does not gather.
