Drawstring bag tutorial from My Aunt June

Our good friend Lauren from My Aunt June has been kind enough to make us a drawstring bag tutorial. She used our Yuwa vintage floral mixed with the Lotta Jansdotter rugged suede. So cute!

Take it away Lauren...

Hello Bon Bons! It's your friendly neighborhood Fake Aunt! Or not, because chances are, I do not live in your neighborhood, and also, you might have another fake aunt. Details. Anyhoo, the project I'm sharing today is super fun and cute and SO satisfying, I've already made four of them!

The tutorial  for this bag, by Jeni of In Color Order  is simply fabulous- I had great results with it the very first time I tried it, which is really saying something, because my sewing projects tend to get, shall we say... unintentinally creative? It's very well written and illustrated, and for this version of the bag I just made a few small changes.

You will need: 

-1/3 yd of the main fabric, a delightfully silky floral print "La Vie en Rose" by KEI

-1/4 yd of the accent fabric, Rugged Suede by Lotta Jansdotter (you will need 1/3 yd if the fabric is directional and it runs parallel to the selvedge.)

-1/2 yd solid green fabric for lining and drawstrings

-1/3 yd muslin 

Cut (2) 12" x 11" pieces of the main fabric 

Cut (1) 12" x 8", and (2) 12" x 3" pieces of the accent fabric 

Cut (2) 12" x 20", and (2) 2.5" x WOF [42"] strips of the lining fabric

Cut (1) 12" x 40" piece of muslin

Bag will be approximately 11.5" wide by 19" tall when finished.

You will mostly follow the directions as written, except:

-In step 1, when piecing together the exterior of the bag, sew your 12" x 8" piece of accent fabric in between the two 12" x 11" main fabric pieces, making sure that on both sides the main fabric is going in the right direction. This adds the bottom piece of accent fabric to the bag. Topstitch across the top of the accent fabric, 1/8" from the seam, to give it a bit sturdier look.

-I used muslin in between the bag layers for added stability. To do this, just take your piece of muslin on the back side of your exterior (meaning the pieced together strip that consists of the two main fabric panels and three accent fabric pieces), and baste them together 1/8" from the sides. Do this right before you sew the interior to the exterior.

-To make your ties a bit thicker, use 2.5" strips instead of 2". You could also use a lightweight interfacing in these, to give them a bit more sturdiness. 

-Instead of finishing the ends of the tie strips, I left them raw. If you do this, you will need to fold the strip in half, and fingerpress a crease in the middle.  After you put them through the bag, use a tight zigzag to sew the raw ends together, so the tie is one big loop. Pull the loop through the casing until you find the crease mark you made, and then make a knot in the tie there.

I really love this girly little bag, and am using it to store my friendship bracelet supplies. (Yes, I am 28. Yes, I do make friendship bracelets. You wanna mess with me? [No, you do not.]) 

Also, this bag is EXCELLENT to give as a gift--- I filled one with handmade burp-cloths and gave it as a baby shower gift, and I think that they would be perfect to fill up with goodies and give to bridesmaid or housewarming present!