Good-bye in a bag

This is a picture of me and two of my best friends, Caitie and Kim. I was sad to hear that Caitie was going to move and finish her masters degree in New Paltz. Shortly after Kim announced she was leaving... for Africa. (like the Lion King, safari Africa). As much as I am missing these ladies I am really proud of them both.

I wanted to send them off with something that was practical. So I came up with the idea of making them a laundry bag. It is pretty much a giant drawstring bag so if you want to make one follow my tutorial and increase the size. I made mine with a yard of fabric. It makes a great gift for anyone that is going away to college or in their first apartment. I stuck a few little trinkets in the bags and they loved it.

I was originally just going to do a color fabric, but I came across these trees at the store and they reminded me of Caitie because her engagement ring resembles a tree branch (and its really pretty, but I digress.) The other fabric is a print and matched the tree fabric nicely. For the drawstring I was able to buy a nice rope chord at Joann's fabrics. I doubled the side of the bag and it worked out nicely.

It's been a few weeks with out the ladies but so far they are doing well. Caitie is teaching a class as well as finishing her Masters Degree and watching massive amounts of Doctor Who with her roomie, Lindsey.

Meanwhile is Kim on the other side of the world fighting off baboons and obscenely large insects. Not really sure if she'll will be able to use it for actually laundry there but I am sure it can come in handy trapping some ferocious scorpions. You can read about her adventures here.

Right now I have a few projects which will be blogged about shortly. I am still trying to find the right balance as far as managing my time. I love doing this stuff but it is A LOT of work. Anywhos... so long for now!

Sarina

Drawstring Bag - tutorial

This is one style of bag that I have wanted to learn how to make for a while. Drawstring bags can be versatile. Small pouches are great scrap busters, especially if you have long pieces that can be used for the drawstring! You can also make them to fit a wine bottle (which adds a nice touch to a gift). You can even apply this technique to make a big bag for something like laundry.

Tools:

• Sewing machine
• Ruler
• Rotary cutter/Scissors
• Safety pin

Step 1:

• Measure and cut the bag
• (this bag can fit any size big or small, just make sure it is a rectangular shape with the skinny side being the opening)
•  For this example the bag is : 8 inches length x 10 inches width
• Add a 1/2 inch seam allowance, and a 2 inch seam allowance for the top.

• Measure and cut the Drawstring
• The strap must be at least twice as long as the width of your bag 
• The width is determined by how you want the finished drawstring to be, the multiply it by 4. 
• Example bag drawstring is: 12 length x 2 inches width

Step 2:

• Make the Drawstring 

• Fold the drawstring in half then press
• Open up, then fold each edge toward the fold, then press
• Fold up again, then press 
• Pin and sew
• (But Sarina what about the raw edges! I know let me get to it!) 
• Fold over the ends and do a zig-zag stitch on the ends 
• You may want to use a think needle for this step because you are sewing through a lot of layers. 

Step 3: Drawstring hole

• Take one piece for the body of the bag. 
• Measure where the hole will be. This should be at least 1 inch from the top

• This should be at least 1 inch from the top raw edge
• Make sure the hole will be big enough to fit your drawstring.
• Use the button hole attachment on your machine (or you can triangle stitch along your measurements)

• Use a seam ripper to create your hole

Step 4: Assemble the bag

•  Law two body pieces on top of each other, right sides facing. 
• Pin along the edge then sew
• Leave the top edge (with the button hole) open. Do not sew this together. 

• Use the triangle stitch to sew up the raw edges

• Fold the top edge inward, sew along the raw edge
•  this will create the tube in which your drawstring will go through

• Fold bag inside out

Step 5: Insert drawstring

• Use attach a safety pin to your drawstring

• Work it through the hole and along the top edge

DONE!