November Monthly Report

Happy December! Coming in most of the way through the month to sneak in the November report. Let's keep it short and sweet. See past reports here.

All of the sewing that I did in the month of November was for the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! I made a bunch of bags, including 24 tiny bags for my advent calendar. When I wasn't sewing drawstring bags I was working on the sew along posts, editing photos or shooting videos. It was a lot of work, but I hope it was fun! You can find all the posts from the sew along here: Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along.

Here are a few of my favorite bags I made in November:


All made with my tutorial/patterns:
Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in November:

November Fabric
Used up: 5.25 yards
Brought in: 3 yards
Net: 2.25 yards
Year to date: -17.5 yards

November Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: 0 yards

I bought a little fabric this month, from my friend Holly's shop, Bijou Lovely. I couldn't let those Ruby Star Society apples go by without grabbing them! Plus a few other things jumped into my cart too. :)


We put up our Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving which was fun. I love having it up and digging into all my ornaments. It makes it feel so cozy in the house. We're staying here in the holidays, so I really went all in on decorating to help us stay cheery.


George the bunny, looking as cute as ever.

Happy Sewing!

Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial: Adding an Exterior Pocket

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to week four of the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! If you're just joining in on the fun now, you can find all the previous sew along posts here: Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along Schedule. This is the last of the formal sew along posts, but I'll be sharing more of my personal projects later this week or early next. I'll also be sharing your projects in my Instagram stories this week!

Today I have another tutorial for you! We'll be adding a simple slip pocket to the exterior of the bag! Perfect for a small gift, gift tag or small card! Or make a tiny pocket and use it for the tooth fairy! We'll be working with the Everything Bag size (same as the tutorial), but there are tips at the end of the post for adding one to other sizes from the pattern.

For reference:
Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern


I was inspired to write this tutorial after making some drawstring bags from thrifted button down shirts last year. Read more about those bags in this post: Upcycled Lined Drawstring Gift Bags + How to Cut up a Button Down Shirt .

I had originally planned to simply repurpose the fabric from the shirts, but ended up repurposing the pockets too. They turned out so cute, I knew I wanted to eventually write this tutorial. You'll find instructions for a simple pocket, but you could definitely get creative and make different style pockets to add to your bags! A dress shirt style pocket or maybe a pocket with a rounded bottom would be really fun.


The instructions below are for a 4" finished pocket. Head to the end of this post for guidance on other pocket sizes and apply pocekets to the other bag sizes.


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

Pocket Lined Drawstring Bag Materials:
- 3 Fat quarters (18"x21")
- 1 Fat eighth pocket fabric
- 2 yards of 1/2" twill tape, or 1/8 yd fabric
- Coordinating thread
- Acrylic ruler
- Large safety pin
- Water soluble pen

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

Pocket Lined Drawstring Bag Cutting:
From Exterior Main Fabric:
- Cut (1) 9”x21” strip
- Subcut into (2) 9”x10.5” pieces

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

From Pocket Fabric:
- (2) 4.5" squares

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

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

Pocket Lined Drawstring Bag Instructions:

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

Before constructing the bag, we first need to make the slip pocket and attach it to one of the Exterior Main pieces.


Place pocket pieces right sides together. Pin around all four sides, leaving a small opening for turning in the side that will be the bottom of the pocket.


Sew around all four sides, backstitching when you start and finish, leaving the opening unsewn.


Trim seam allowance down to 1/8" at the corners to reduce bulk.


Turn pocket right sides out and press well. Top stitch along the top edge of the pocket piece.


Center the pocket across the width of the Exterior Main piece (for the Everything Bag 10.5" is the width) and place it 1" down from the top edge of the Exterior Main piece.


Pin pocket in place.


Top stitch along both sides and the bottom to secure the pocket to the exterior and close up the opening left for turning. Trim away any threads and press well.

For bag construction, refer to the free tutorial or the lined drawstring bag pattern. If you need extra guidance on the construction, please refer to the video tutorial.


Here are the approximate maximum size pockets you could add for each bag size included in the Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern. Also suggestions for how far down to place the top of the pocket on the Exterior Main. For a pocket that is completely centered in the finishd bag exterior, I recommend checking out my Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern. It explains exactly how to find the center of the exterior main and how to center something on it, in great detail!

	Max. Finished Pocket Size*	Placement from Top Edge
Tiny Bag	2"x2"	3/4"
Snack Bag	4"x3"	3/4"
Everything Bag	5.5"x5.5"	1"
Project Bag	7"x7"	1"
Artist Bag	9"x9"	1.25"
Laundry Bag	17"x10"	2"
CD Bag	5"x5"	1/2"
DVD Bag	9"x7"	1/2"

*Add .5" to both dimensions of the desired finished pocket size when cutting.
(Example: Finished pocket size 2"x2", cut pocket pieces 2"x2")


I hope this tutorial is useful! It's a simple addition to a plain bag, that makes it even cuter for gifting!

Happy Sewing!

Christmas Patchwork Lined Drawstring Gift Bag

Happy Monday! I'm happy to be sharing another personal finish for the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along today. We're heading towards the final week of the sew along, which seems impossible! Time has been going by so fast, and I am excited to share the last tutorial on Wednesday.

This past week I finished up my patchwork lined drawstring gift bag. I have a surprisingly small number of lined drawstring bags made up in Christmas fabric. I don't tend to buy too much holiday fabric, so maybe that's why? I honestly probably need to make a few more so that I have enough to wrap our gifts this year! I usually do a mix of bags and wrapping paper, but I'm planning to mostly use bags this time around.


A few years ago my friend Jacey gave me a stack of really cute Christmas fabric scraps and I've been holding onto them waiting for just the right project. I didn't sew as much with scraps this year as I would have liked, so it felt good to get a scrap project under my belt during the sew along. All these fabrics are so cute, I think I originally wanted to make something that didn't cut them up too much, but I'm pleased with how much that could still shine in this bag.


I chose to make the Project size bag from the lined drawstring bag pattern, since it uses larger squares than the Everything size. I really didn't want to chop up those adorable prints! This patchwork variation is a part of the lined drawstring bag expansion pattern.

Find the patterns in my online shop here:
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern


I struggled a bit trying to decide on an accent fabric to use, but ended up with this olive green faux bois print from an old Joel Dewberry collection. This particular green color is in quite a few of the prints, so I think it works in the end. The bag is a bit busy with all the different patchwork prints, so a neutral might have been a better choice. I'm happy with how it turned out though.


I'm glad I still had some of this dusty navy paracord left for the ties. That color is also in a number of the prints, so it felt like a good unifying choice.

I buy most of my paracord from Bored Paracord* on Etsy.


I love finishing off lined drawstring gift bags by tieing it up in a bow! Makes it look even more festive in my opinion.

Happy Sewing

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to week three of the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! If you're just joining in on the fun now, you can find all the previous sew along posts here: Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along Schedule. So far in the sew along I've shared my tips for picking out fabrics for drawstring bags, a full video tutorial, plus some of my personal drawstring bag projects.

Today I'm sharing a brand new bag size! I haven't shared many additional sizes, so it's fun to release this new size for you all! This bag is made using the same construction as the lined drawstring bag tutorial and pattern, so I'll just be sharing the measurements and cutting instructions for this bag here in this post. You'll need to refer to the tutorial or pattern for instructions to sew up the bag.


This is a cute alternative to the standard tall gift bag! It's not only eco-friendly but reusable and customizable! Choose fabrics to match the colors of the bottle, or to match the holiday or occasion.

Use it to gift wine, liquor or a nice bottle of vinegar or olive oil. Homemade vanilla, coffee syrup, or a custom infused oil would all make wonderful gifts to wrap up in this bag too. I think it would also be a great size for holding a reusable cutlery set. Add a cloth placemat or napkin and a set of reusable straws and you've got a compact little dinnerware set to throw in your backpack or bag for lunch on the go. You can avoid single-use plastic silverware in style!


I designed this bag specifically with holiday gift giving in mind. It's tall and skinny, sized just right to hold a tall bottle. The neck of the bottle sticks out of the top of the bag, giving a little preview of what's inside! I tested it with a variety of different bottles that we had on hand, but it was designed with a wine bottle in mind. The largest diameter bottle we have on hand is just under 3.5" across, and it fit great. I think anything too much larger than 3.5" will be a tight fit.

Depending on the exact size of the neck on the bottle you're wrapping, you may find that you need a little extra tie length in order to tie up a bow with the ties. If you're using twill or paracord, you can always cut them extra long and then trim them down after they're made.


The inside height of the bag, measured from the bottom of the bag to the drawstrings is 8.5". The measurement from the bottom of the bottle you're wrapping to the "shoulder" of the bottom (right before the neck), should be less than 8.5" in order for the drawstring to close around the neck. If you need the body of the bag to be a little taller to fit a specific bottle, just add a few inches to the height of the exterior main pieces (the 10.5" measurement), and add an equal amount to the height of the lining pieces (the 14" measurement).


Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly
Finished size: Approx. 12" tall, 4" wide, 3" deep

Lined Drawstring Bag Materials:
- 3 Fat quarters (18"x21")
- 1 1/2 yards of twill tape, nylon paracord, or 1/8 yd fabric
- Coordinating thread
- Acrylic ruler
- Large safety pin
- Marking pen

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

Lined Drawstring Bag Cutting:
From Exterior Main Fabric:
- Cut (1) 10.5”x21” strip
- Subcut into (2) 10.5”x7” pieces*

From Exterior Accent Fabric:
- Cut (1) 4”x21” strip
- Subcut into (2) 4”x7” pieces*

From Interior Fabric:
- Cut (1) 14”x21” strip
- Subcut into (2) 14”x7” pieces*

If using fabric for ties:
- Cut (2) 26”x2” strips

If using twill for ties:
- Cut (2) 26" pieces

*This tutorial uses subcutting. There may be scrap leftover from the strips after you've cut your pieces. It's written this way to ensure that any directional fabrics are cut correctly. The scraps will not be used in the final bag. The final measurements for each piece can be found on the second line of each cutting instruction if you’d rather cut from scraps. All piece dimensions are listed as height x width.

Lined Drawstring Bag Instructions:

For bag construction, refer to the free tutorial or the lined drawstring bag pattern. In step 7, the depth is 3" (draw a line 3", across the corner). If you need extra guidance on the construction, please refer to the video tutorial.


I hope this will be a useful size bag for all your gifting needs! It would also be great for holding anything that's tall and skinny, doesn't have to be just for gifts. You could extend the length and make one to hold a curling iron or straightener! Lots of ways to use this size and all the other sizes in the pattern.

Happy Sewing!

Sew Along: Drawstring Bag Advent Calendar

Happy Monday! I'm so excited to share my finished advent calendar today! I had intended on making this back in September/October but time got away from me and I only just finished it yesterday, whoops!

I love advent calendars. The one we had as a kid was a hanging one that was a fleece/felt tree that had a little stuffed ornament that attached with velcro each day. My brother and I would take turns getting to put them on each day leading up to Christmas. I've had a few different calendars over the years, but I've been wanting to make one with little bags or pockets to put different things in for a long time. The last couple years I bought a Disney Tsum Tsum plush advent calendar, but since they aren't making those anymore I decided it was finally time to take matters into my own hands and make my dream advent calendar!

Here is the advent calendar I made a few years ago: Pretty in Patchwork Holidays: Advent Calendar.


For the last two weeks I've been working on making 24 drawstring bags for my new advent calendar! I put off making this calendar because I thought it would take too long to make, but honestly it went a lot faster than I expected. I made them all assembly line style so that helped save a lot of time! Regardless, I'm happy it's done, and I can't wait to start opening them tomorrow.

I used both the original lined drawstring bag pattern and the lined drawstring bag expansion pattern to make these. They're all the tiny size (smallest size in the pattern) and I used the easy going variation for an all solid exterior. I figured cutting out the accents would save me some extra time!

Find the patterns in my online shop here:
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern


Thought I'd do a little run down of how I made it. I know it's too late for this year, but maybe for next year if you'd like to make one. I chose nine fabrics from my stash in three colors. I love adding pink into Christmas projects to give them a little bit of a vintage feel. I kept the linings simple and just used muslin.


For the numbers on the bags I used iron-on foil*. It's hard to tell in photos, but it's rose gold in person! I used my Cricut Maker* to cut the numbers. I had never cut or applied anything like this before, so there was a bit of a learning curve. Once I got the hang of it though, it went pretty fast. Now I my wheels are turning for what else I can use this foil on! It was very satisfying to apply.

The Cricut Maker was gifted to me in 2018 by Cricut.


I shared most of the process of making these bags on my Instagram Stories, they're all save in a highlight if you'd like to see, I'm @jenib320 there. I'm trying to post more on my stories, we'll see if I can keep it up!


I finished the bags off with paracord, which seemed like the quickest option. I wasn't sure how I wanted to display the bags at first. I tried hanging them on two different small trees, but wasn't happy with how it looked. I ended up with this simple dowel + ribbon (I used twill) option, and I really like it! It perfectly fills this spot between our fireplace and the window. I filled the bags with ornaments, so I'll get to stretch decorating the tree out over the whole month!

I buy most of my paracord from Bored Paracord* on Etsy.


It was fun to try something new for this project and a good reminder to myself that I should do that more often. I don't know why I waited so long to try the iron-on! It wasn't hard and it really added something to this project in particular. Especially since I am so often thinking about or writing instructions whether it be tutorials or patterns, it's good for me to be a beginner again at something and get out of my comfort zone. I am definitely going to keep that in mind when deciding on my craft goals for 2021.


I know this is going to be a bit of a strange holiday season, since we aren't going home for Christmas. I'm letting myself indulge in all the holiday activities, including this advent calendar to try to keep cheerful. There is still a lot to be thankful for!

Happy Sewing!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Sew Along: Lined Drawstring Bag Video Tutorial

Happy Wednesday! It's time for the second week of the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! This week's post is a full video tutorial of making the lined drawstring bags. This video has been requested many times over the year, and I'm glad to finally have it available to you all. I hope it will be helpful!

I do have one small disclaimer: I am not a professional videographer, and this video is far from perfect. There are a few abrupt cuts and the angles aren't always the best, but I tried my best! :)

In the video I make an Everything Size bag (same as the tutorial size), from start to finish. You'll need to have either the tutorial or pattern handy when following along with the video:

Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern


Watch the video in this blog post, or watch it on YouTube, here: Lined Drawstring Bag Video Tutorial

I look forward to seeing your projects! Please share them with me on instagram @jenib320 + #lineddrawstringbag or via email (jenib320 @ gmail.com)!

Happy Sewing

Sew Along: Lined Drawstring Bags I'm Planning to Make

Happy Friday! I thought it would be fun to share a few of the projects I'm going to be working on throughout the sew along! If you missed the first post, it went up on Wednesday and you can find it here: Tips for Choosing Fabrics for Drawstring Bags.

The project I'm most excited about is an advent calendar! I'm making 24 tiny size bags for that! I've wanted to do this for years and I'm glad it's finally happening. I'm making them 'easy going' style without an exterior accent, and will be using my Cricut Maker* to cut vinyl numbers that I can iron on. I have all the fabric cut, next I need to tackle the vinyl!


I definitely want to make a patchwork gift bag with this collection of Christmas prints that my friend Jacey shared with me a few years ago. I'll probably add a few more fabrics into this mix, but I thought it would be fun to use up these scraps for a bag.


I started a scrap quilt a few years ago, but didn't get very far. I'm planning on adding to each block to make it the right size for a drawstring bag exterior. I think I have eight blocks, so I can make 4 bags if I want. I know it would feel really good to use up the blocks. And I also love the scrappy bags I make.


Lately I've been trying to use up some fabrics that have been in my stash for a really long time. This rabbit print from Creative Thursday was released in 2012, so I wanted to finally use it for something! Another gift bag seemed like a good solution.

I already know I'll be pulling fabrics for more bags along the way, this is just what I have planned for now, outside of the bags for the sew along posts!

Happy Sewing!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Tips for Choosing Fabrics for Drawstring Bags

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to the first post of the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! I'm excited to kick this off by sharing my favorite shortcut for choosing fabrics. I'll be back later this week to share my plans for the bags I'm making during the sew along! I'll be updating the schedule post 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

The methods and tips I'll be sharing in this post are simply things that have worked well for me when it comes to choosing fabrics for drawstring bags or other small projects. There is absolutely no wrong or right way to choose fabrics for a project or any rules for what kind of fabrics to use where. This is just meant to be a bit of guidance if you don't know where to start. Please feel free to experiment and play around with different combinations to figure out what appeals to you!

Recognizing Direction in Fabric Designs
Before we dive into my go-to method for choosing fabrics, let's talk a little about directional and non-directional fabrics as well as types of prints. The lined drawstring bag pattern & tutorial have cutting instructions written to accomodate directional fabrics for both the Exterior Main pieces and Exterior Accent pieces. Let's look at some different types of directional fabrics so that we're on the same page.


The fabric print above is a one-way directional fabric. It has a distinct top and a distinct bottom as well as distinct sides. That just means if it was turned a different way it could be upside down, or sideways. If you're using this type of print for the Exterior Main, you'll want to make sure the "top" edge of the print is touching your accent piece when you sew your pieces together.


The fabric print above is a two-way directional fabric. It has distinct sides, but the top and bottom are interchangeable. This means the piece can be turned two different ways and it will look right when sewn up!


The fabric print above is non-directional fabric. That means it has no distinct sides, top or bottom. It can be cut and turned any direction! This is the easiest type of fabric to use for drawstring bags, if you're nervous about getting your pieces laid out right.

Types of Fabric Prints
I'll be referencing focal prints, blender prints, and neutrals throughout this post. These can be a bit subjective, but here are some examples of what these look like to me for the purposes of this post:


Focal fabric: good deal of interest, typically larger in scale, often with multiple colors


Blender fabric: only one or two colors, typically smaller in scale and with a repetitive design


Neutral fabric: solids, linen, shot cottons, chambray, cork, etc.

Fabric Selection Shortcut

My favorite method for choosing fabrics is to start with a single fabric and use it to choose the rest of the prints or accesories I'm going to use for a project. Here is my very loose formula for deciding what type of fabric to use where on my bags:

Exterior Main: Focal fabric or medium scale blender
Exterior Accent: Blender, small focal fabric or neutral
Lining: Neutral, small blender or small scale non-directional focal

Let's walk through a few of the example fabric pulls below:


For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a one-way directional focal print. I used the colors in the focal print to choose the rest of the fabrics, which are all blenders. The blue print is the Exterior Accent, the orange is the Ties, and the peach is the Lining. I was sure to choose a light colored lining fabric since the Exterior Main has a light background; I don't want the lining to show through it!


For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a non-directional small scale focal print. I used the colors in the focal fabric for the remaining parts. The orange small scale focal print is the Exterior Accent, the dark purple blender is the Ties and the light purple blender is the Lining.


For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a one-way directional focal print. It has a limited color palette so I added in a few neutrals to this pull. The peach blender is the Exterior Accent, the cotton/linen neutral is the lining, and the natural twill tape is the Ties.

For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a non-directional blender print. I paired it with two more blenders in the same black and white color palette. The black print is the Exterior Accent and the white print is the Lining. To add a pop of color I choose a rainbow paracord for the Ties.


For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a one-way directional focal print. I found a second focal print in a very similar color palette for the Exterior Accent, and a purple blender that coordinates with both exterior prints for the Lining. The natural twill tape is the Ties.


For this fabric pull I used prints from a single collection, to make it nice and easy! I started with a two-way directional focal print for the Exterior Main. I paired it with a medium scale blender for the Exterior Accent and a small scale blender for the Lining. The yellow twill tape is the Ties.

For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a non-directional focal print. I used colors in the focal fabric for the remaining parts. The pink blender print is the Exterior Accent, the green blender print is the Lining and the mustard paracord is the Ties.


For this fabric pull I started with the Exterior Main fabric, which is a two-way directional focal print. I paired it with two blenders that match the colors in the focal print. The red dot blender is the Exterior Accent, the cream blender is the Lining and the natural twill tape is the Ties. I coordinated the colors in this pull but also the theme, using a paper-like blender with an envelope themed focal print.

Using Different Fabric Substrates

I probably use quilting cottons 75% of the time when I make a drawstring bag. I have a large stash of options and they're easy to work with. The other 25% of the time I use other weights of cottons! Barkcloth, cotton/linen blends, light-weight canvas and chambray have all made their way into drawstring bags. They aren't too different to work with, the main thing to keep in mind is not to use something too heavy on the Exterior Accent. If the fabric there is too thick it could interfere with the drawstring closure. I don't typically use lightweight fabrics like voile or lawn, since they wouldn't provide very much structure. I've used knit fabric before, which actually worked better than expected. Find that tutorial here: Knit Drawstring Shoe Bag Tutorial


Cork is another fun option to really mix up your drawstring bag! I used it on this bag as a bottom accent (variation is in the expansion pattern). It was fun to work with and the result is so cute!


I hope this post is helpful when you're choosing fabrics for your bags! I can't wait to see the fabric pulls you all come up with for your projects! Please share them with me on instagram @jenib320 + #lineddrawstringbag or via email (jenib320 @ gmail.com)!

Happy Sewing!