Book Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial

Welcome to the first post of the 2024 Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! Today I have a new bag size to share, the Book Lined Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial!

I'll be updating the Sew Along Page each week 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

Here are a few to-do items for week 1 of the sew along!

The main goal for this week is to get your bag plans mapped out. Figure out how many bags you'd like to make, which sizes and choose fabrics. Here are a few posts from the archives that you might find helpful when tackling this:

- My tips for choosing fabrics, specifically for drawstring bags. This post includes a bunch of sample fabric pulls too. Find it here: Tips for Choosing Fabrics for Drawstring Bags

- Guidance for making drawstring bags for wrapping gifts. There are also some gift ideas for each size, to give you an idea of what would fit in all the different sizes: Tips For Using Drawstring Bags to Wrap Gifts

- There are a few other bag sizes outside of the tutorial or pattern, you don't want to miss then! The Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial and the Knit Drawstring Shoe Bag Tutorial.

- Still looking for fabric combination ideas? I'd recommend checking out my Lined Drawstring Bag Pinterest Board as well as the #lineddrawstringbag hashtag on Instagram. You'll find lots of finished bags to take inspiration from!


I'm so excited to share two bag sizes with you today that would be great for books! Books make such a nice gift, I thought we could all get some use out of a bag tailored specifically for wrapping books. I'm sharing two different bags today, one that fits larger novels and another that fits small paperbacks.

The Large Book Bag is 15" tall x 9" wide and fits hardcover books around 9.5"x6.5", as well as larger trade paperback books around 9"x6". The inside usable height of the Large bag is 12.5".

The Small Book Bag is 12.5" tall x 8" wide and fits medium paperbacks around 8"x5" as well small mass-market paperbacks around 7"x4". The inside height of the Small bag is 10.25". Both bags fit books that are of moderate thickness.


If you're worried that your book won't fit, I suggest making a test bag! You can always add height (the same amount to the Exterior Main and Lining) if you need to. A good rule of thumb is if the book is shorter than the Exterior Main height measurement, it has a good chance of fitting. If your book is particularly thick, you may consider adding a little to both the height and width of the pieces to accommodate it.

Book Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial

Sewing Level: Beginner
Finished size: Large - 15" tall 9" wide, Small - 12.5" tall 8" wide

Book Drawstring Gift Bag Materials:

	Small Bag	Large Bag
Exterior Main	1 Fat Quarter	1 Fat Quarter
Accent	1 Fat Quarter*	1 Fat Quarter*
Lining	1 Fat Quarter	1 Fat Quarter
Ties	1/8 yd or 1 5/8 yd twill	1/8 yd or 1 2/3 yd twill

*1/4 yard cut could be substituted

- Coordinating thread
- Acrylic ruler
- Large safety pin
- Pencil

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

Book Drawstring Gift Bag Cutting:
All cutting measurements are listed as height x width

	Small Bag	Large Bag
Exterior Main	(2) 10"x8.5"	(2) 12"x9.5"
Accent	(2) 4"x8.5"	(2) 4"x9.5"
Lining	(2) 13.5"x8.5"	(2) 15.5"x9.5"
Ties**	(2) 28"x2"	(2) 30"x2"

**If using twill for ties, ignore the 2" measurement and simply cut to length.

Book Drawstring Gift Bag Instructions:

For bag construction, refer to the free tutorial or the lined drawstring bag pattern. The depth for both bags is 0, so you can skip steps 6-8 and proceed to step 9. If you need extra guidance on the construction, please refer to the video tutorial.


I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial! I can't wait to see your bags! Please share them with me on instagram @jenib320 + #lineddrawstringbag or via email (jenib320 @ gmail.com)!

Don't forget to pin this post to your Pinterest for future reference!

Happy Sewing!

2024 Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along Schedule

This year's Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along starts in one week! I wanted to share the schedule for the sew along so that you know what posts you can expect from me starting Wednesday, November 20th! If you'd like to break up your bag making across the sew along, I'm also sharing a schedule for making that you can choose to use if you'd like! I'll also be sharing my progress on my personal bags throughout the sew along! Here are the posts I have planned for each week:

Week 1 - November 20th
Tutorial post: Book Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial (new size!)
To do: Plan your bags! This week your task is to decide how many bags you'd like to make, what sizes, and pick out fabrics.

Week 2 - November 27th
Tutorial post: Wreath Block Drawstring Bag Tutorial
To do: Cutting! Now's the time to finalize your fabric choices and cut out all the pieces for your bags.

Week 3 - December 4th
Tutorial post: Tips for Sturdy Drawstring Bags
To do: Sewing! Sew your bags through step 10. If you're making a lot of bags and you're short on time, I highly recommend making them assembly line style. This isn't quite as fun, but it's definitely more efficient!

Week 4 - December 11th
Tutorial post: Tie-Dye Cotton Twill Tape Tutorial
To do: Final touches! Tackle those drawstring casings, make fabric ties or prep twill/paracord ties. Pull ties through the bags and finish them off with a simple knot or some fun beads!

Each week's post will go up on Wednesday! I'll update this post and the Sew Along page with the links as we go. You can find all of the previous year's sew along posts on that page too!

Participating is easy, we'll be using the #lineddrawstringbag hashtag on Instagram to share our progress. Not on Instagram? That's okay! Feel free to sew along and if you'd like, share your bags with me via email!


Sew from the free tutorial, the pattern or the expansion pattern! Both patterns are on sale, 20% off through 11/25/23. Prices are already marked down. Shop here:

Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern

Don't forget to pick up some supplies too!
Cotton Twill Tape
Nylon Paracord
Round Wooden Beads
Beehive Wooden Beads

Happy Sewing!

Announcing the 2024 Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along!

Get your sewing machine ready! It's that time of year, our annual Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along is almost here! Using drawstring bags to wrap your holiday gifts is a great way to reduce the amount of single-use wrapping paper you need. Every year is an opportunity to build up your stash of bags and use up some of the beautiful fabrics you probably have kicking around your fabric stash!

A handmade gift bag can really take a gift to the next level, especially when it's tailored to the recipient or gift. Within our immediate family, we keep reusing the same bags year after year. I love pulling my older bags out and adding new ones to the mix. I hope you'll sew along with me and make a few bags this year!

When:
The Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along will officially kick off on Wednesday, November 20th and will run for four weeks!

Where:
Each week of the sew along I'll publish a blog post with a new tutorial. There is a dedicated sew along page, which I'll update as we go along. It's a great place to find all the posts from previous year's sew alongs, there is so much good information and inspiration there, so be sure to check it out.

How to Participate:
Just like in years past, this sew along is going to be casual and no-stress. Participating is easy, we'll be using the #lineddrawstringbag hashtag on Instagram to share our progress. Please tag me @jenib320 too, I love sharing your projects throughout the sew along! Not on Instagram? That's okay! Please join in the sew along and if you'd like, share your bags with me via email! (jenib320 at gmail.com)

Patterns & Tutorial:
Sew from the free tutorial, the pattern or the expansion pattern! Both patterns are 20% off today through 11/15/24. Prices are already marked down.

Shop Patterns:
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern

Shop Notions:

Don't forget to pick up some supplies while you're at it! The shop is stocked with lots of different cotton twill tape options, nylon paracord and wooden beads. I also put together a new Lined Drawstring Bag Notions Kit, to make it super easy to pick up a few supplies!

Lined Drawstring Bag Notions Kit
Cotton Twill Tape
Nylon Paracord
Round Wooden Beads
Beehive Wooden Beads


I also have a new color of Nylon Paracord in the shop, black!

Thank you for your continued support. Can't wait to sew bags together!

Happy Sewing!