How to Sew a Small Drawstring Gift Bag

Learn how to sew a small drawstring gift bag that’s beautiful and adds an extra special touch to your gift giving this holiday season!

If you’re looking to add an extra special touch to your holiday gift giving this year, try making these DIY small drawstring gift bags! They’re the perfect size to add all kinds of little goodies like homemade cocoa butter lip balm and homemade soy wax melts. These DIY gift bags are also great to make as a beginner sewing project and can be customized to fit your style. Change up the fabric and ties to your liking to make them extra special. You can even add little gift tags to these bags. Add them to stockings or place them under the tree and they’re ready to go! These bags are also a wonderful eco-friendly gift wrapping option, as they can be reused year after year. So without further ado, let me show you just how easy they are to make.

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TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

• Sewing machine
• Scissors or rotary cutter set
• Large safety pin or yarn needle

MATERIALS YOU MAY NEED

• 1/2 yard cotton fabric
• All-purpose coordinating thread
• Twine

HOW TO SEW A SMALL DRAWSTRING GIFT BAG

Cut a piece of fabric 7 inches x 12.5 inches.

Fold the fabric in half over the middle horizontally, hamburger style, right sides together and press.

Measure down from the top 2” and place a pin on both sides.

Sew from the bottom up each side to the the mark, forward and backward stitching at the beginning and end with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Iron down the seams on the top.

Turn the bag right side out and push out the corners with a blunt object.

Fold one side down twice to the top of the sewn seam and iron in place. Repeat for other side.

Sew the bottom of the fold as close to the edge as you can using a 1/2” seam allowance, making sure to forward and backward stitch at the beginning and end. Repeat on the other side.

Use a yarn needle or large safety pin to thread one piece of 20” twine through each channel created in the previous step, then thread another piece of twine going the opposite way.

Tie a knot on each side and that’s it!

NOTES

• To adjust the size of these small drawstring gift bags, simply add or subtract an equal amount of inches from both the length and width.
• Other options for ties would be yarn, rope or even ribbon.
• To ensure these DIY gift bags aren’t see-through, use a thicker fabric like the one linked above.
• These gift bags are very similar to my reusable DIY bread bags, so check out that tutorial if you want to make these gift bags on a larger scale!

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DIY Small Drawstring Gift Bag

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Beginner

Learn how to sew a small drawstring gift bag that's beautiful and adds an extra special touch to your gift giving this holiday season!

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Materials

• 1/2 yard cotton fabric
• All-purpose coordinating thread
• Twine

Tools

• Sewing machine
• Scissors or rotary cutter set
• Large safety pin or yarn needle

Instructions

1. Cut fabric 7 x 12.5 inches
2. Fold the fabric in half over the middle horizontally, hamburger style, right sides together and press.
3. Measure down from the top 2” and place a pin on both sides.
4. Sew from the bottom up each side to the the mark, forward and backward stitching at the beginning and end with a 1/4” seam allowance.
5. Iron down the seams on the top.
6. Turn the bag right side out and push out the corners with a blunt object.
7. Fold one side down twice to the top of the sewn seam and iron in place. Repeat for other side.
8. Sew the bottom of the fold as close to the edge as you can using a 1/2” seam allowance, making sure to forward and backward stitch at the beginning and end. Repeat on the other side.
9. Use a yarn needle or large safety pin to thread one piece of 20” twine through each channel created in the previous step, then thread another piece of twine going the opposite way.
10. Tie a knot on each side and that's it!

Notes

• To adjust the size of these small drawstring gift bags, simply add or subtract an equal amount of inches from both the length and width.

• Other options for ties would be yarn, rope or even ribbon.
• To ensure these DIY gift bags aren't see-through, use a thicker fabric like the one linked above.
• These gift bags are very similar to my reusable DIY bread bags, so check out that tutorial if you want to make these gift bags on a larger scale!

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

LOOKING FOR MORE EASY SEWING PROJECTS?

• How to Make a Reusable DIY Bread Bag
• How to Sew Reusable Bowl Covers
• How to Sew a Flannel Blanket
• How to Make a Homemade Reusable Heating Pad

Did you make one of these small drawstring bags? If you did, I’d love to see how they turned out! Tag me on Instagram @thesimplehomeplace to show me your own recreations of these bags!