I love pretty things for everyday mundane tasks. I figure if I can add a little beauty to those things it takes the doldrums out of it just a little bit.

This week I made a pretty little laundry bag to bring the dry-cleaning in. It took under an hour, so I say, why not? And if you are new to sewing, this is a SUPER EASY project. You could do this in any size for a myriad of drawstring bag uses... ballet bag, lunch bag, swim kit etc etc.

What You Need

 1.25 yards of cording for drawstring

1 yard for outside fabric

1 yard for lining

Cutting

Cut 2 pieces of each of your fabrics at 21" x 27"

Sewing

1. Place an outside fabric and a lining fabric right sides together and sew the short ends (tops) together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat for the second pair of outside/lining fabrics.

2. Open the fabrics so the whole thing is flat, and press each seam open.

3. From the seam, make a mark at 1.25" and 2" from the seam on each side (left and right) of the outside fabric. This will be the opening for your drawstring.

4. Place the sewn pieces right sides together with the outsides on one end and the lining on the other. Pin at the seam so the seams stay matched up when you sew.

5. Leaving an opening of about 3" on the lining side, sew each short (bottom) end together using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

6. Sew each long edge together leaving an opening between the two marks for the drawstring you made near the top of the edges. Back stitch before and after the marks to reinforce.

7. Turn the bag outside right and either hand stitch or machine stitch the lining closed. I always just machine stitch lining. I've yet  to figure out why it matters if it's hand stitched because no one can see it.

8. Place the lining into the bag.

9. Using a safety pin at the end of your cord, slip the cord through the drawstring opening on the side of your bag. I tied knots at the ends of my cords to keep it from slipping through the holes during washing. You can also add large beads at the ends if you so desire.

That's it! Enjoy!