I treated myself to a custom pair of sneakers recently and they came in this really cool
bag. And I got so excited about the bag I decided, hey let’s make a fantastic completely
finished bag. Makes a great gift item with a double pull drawstring. Let’s get started.
On my sweet drawstring bag here I’m using the Crossroads Denim by Indygo Junction. And
I love it because it’s not only strong, it’s also soft. Now when you’re working
with Crossroads I want to point out that there is a bit of a nap to it or a texture on both
sides. So there is kind of a rough side that I consider the wrong side. And then there’s
a nice soft, and you can actually see the nap in it and I consider that the right side
always when I’m working with the Crossroads. So keeping that in mind, choose two of your
favorite colors, right? And then make yourself a few rectangles, two is all you really need.
13 inches by 18 inches will make this bag. If you follow those measurements all of this
will work when we get up to the draw cord. But this is the technique so of course you
can do this any way, any size. You just have to have more draw cord or less possibly, right?
Ok now let’s get into the way this works. So what we’re going to end up building together
is this panel twice. And what you see are no raw edges once we get ready to get into
the finishing stages. So I’ve double folded the sides. And then I’ve single folded and
created a casing up here for the drawstring. And it will be easier for you to see the technique
on the orange fabric. I think I’m pretty organized on that here. So there’s that
double fold. And we need to do it to the other side first. So what I do, I kind of just pinch
in what looks to be about a quarter of an inch and then again as I roll it and I wander
over to the sewing machine. And all of the parts of the bag count this time so I’ve
already got my cream color threaded, excuse me, cream colored thread in the machine so
that any of my top stitching that shows will look awesome as well. And now I’m just going
to run a stitch. Then I can just twist it and fold it back underneath there as we go.
Ok. super easy for that. Again that was double folded so now raw edge.
Now if your fabrics have any kind of print or texture to them make sure that you’re
now doing this to what will be the top edge of your bag. It’s going to be a single fold
first with another quarter inch seam allowance. You don’t need much to secure it. We’re
going to do that one more time to kill that raw edge. OK. And of course I’ll trim up
all my threads at the end as well. I love using the seam guides especially while I’m
doing all of the stages so before I roll into my one inch seam I would make sure I did this
to both sides of the bag. Because now I’m going to just slide my edge guide out of the
way. I’m going to bring this in about a one inch fold. And I’m actually now using
the markings on my stitch plate to see that. And now I’m going to line up my outside
edge so that it stays square. And we’re going to do this again. I backstitch because
it’s going to be one of my finishing edges. And now I’m stitching right on top of that
thread so that it looks nice on the inside of the bag. The other option would be to stitch
down about an eighth of an inch and make a parallel running look on your stitches. Either
way works perfect. Ok.
Now at this point you have this side finished and you have this side finished. But we want
to do what will be considered a French seam. So I’ve got to stop, I’ve got to think
it through, right? Because normally we join right sides together so we have to start with
wrong sides together for the French seam. So this is wrong side because it’s the inside
of the bag. This is a wrong side. I’m going to marry up those two seams. And I’m going
to do a quarter inch across the bottom or even less. So watch, I won’t even put that
edge guide back into place. I’m just going to use basically the edge of my presser foot
now. We’re just securing this. We’re going to catch it again in a second. I’m going
to roll through nice and quick. Just like that. Ok now this point here is where if you’re
going to do any embellishment through applique or embroidery like I did on my bag, right?
with my cool Man Sewing logo. I want you to consider doing it now. That way if you need
to stitch around it can without your bag sealed. And/or you also know where to position it.
So When I came out of my embroidery machine I already had this secured because it gave
me the opportunity to account for the seam allowance that’s going to happen, ok? So
applique, embellish, embroider, whatever you’re going to do first and then now we’re going
to finish the bag off.
So right now what you’ll see here are the wrong sides which is standard sewing. What
I do is I fold it over. And this would be a great time to hit it with the iron because
that will help us secure that. And when we take this seam allowance what we do not want
to happen is we do not want to take such a narrow seam allowance that the little thread
tails show up from that first raw edge. Now I’m coming in here and I’m doing about
a ⅜ or a ½ inch. And a lot of times you can kind of feel that with your presser foot
meaning you can feel that seam allowance inside. I’m going to roll this through here and
cut that. And before we sew any further, what I want to do is I want to make sure that when
I open this up I don’t have any threads hanging out of there because this would be
the time that I would fix that if I had a problem, ok? We’re still right sides together.
We’re going to just sew up the seams. But we’re not going to sew our casing. So I
need you to stop right here. I don’t want you to sew your drawstring casings closed.
Ok? So we’re going to go up one side. And you’ve got a lot of bulk down there you
might need to give it a little bit of encouragement but don’t push too hard. That’s where
you’ll break your needle. Ask me how I know. I’m just coming up here. And when I get
up to where those casings are I’m going to get as close as I can. I don’t have to
be right up against them. And I’m going to backstitch a few times, backstitch a few
times because that really helps put some security against that load. And we’re going to do
the other side. And we are done shy of our draw cord. Ok so I’ve got a backstitch in
there as a reminder to make sure that’s really good and secure. And now it’s time
to handle putting in our draw cord.
Now for the draw cord. I love this paracord, right? It’s a nylon product so it can be
cut and melted. And it comes in huge variety of colors and super strong. This bag, the
minimum you’re going to need is two pieces at 27 inches long. When we’re done we’re
going to tie this little knot. So that’s why I say minimum of 27 inches. That’s the
perfect size. But if you want to go longer, cut it after it’s tied and then melt it.
That’s a really easy technique as well. I’ve already got my pieces cut. So I’m
going to show you that real quick. And I’ve melted three of the four ends. Kids I know
you love Man Sewing. Kids, you know you’re not supposed to play with fire. So make sure
you are not doing this at all without your parents’ help. And I’m going to say if
you’re under 18. Ok, now.
One of the tricks is go to the blue part of the lighter so you don’t burn the cord.
I found that out yesterday. The yellow part makes it sooty looking. And now that’s beautiful
like that. And every now and again there will be a bit of a sharp edge on there that could
get snagged as you’re running it through the cord, or the casing. So that’s trimmed
off. Now I have a safety pin pre-prepared in one side. And what you’re going to do
is you’re going to enter one of the raw cord casing sides there. And you’re going
to push it all the way through. Now if you have a larger safety pin, it would be great.
I happened to have my basting safety pins around so that’s what I grabbed. It’s
still working pretty good. And I just love the texture on this denim. I use it for all
kinds of stuff. Ok so we’re almost done. Now this is a double pull draw cord bag. You
could certainly do it with one but I like two. You saw the way it cinches up nice. So
now as it’s coming around, don’t let go of this. You’ll want to pull it all the
way through. But I’m going to feed it back into the other side. Ok. Once it gets started
it’s fantastic. If you need to practice at home before you do this, go around and
take all of the cords out of your sweatshirt hoodies, right? And practice, practice, practice
and then you’ll be an expert at this. If you take that advice I think you need to find
a new show to watch. Ok, we’re almost there. I’m stalling as long as I can. But I really
need to show you how to tie it off. But I will encourage you to go ahead and do the
other one on your own. I won’t take your time for that today. But you’re going to
run it in the opposite direction so you have a knot on each side. Now the key to working
with this is, grab it here and then just scrunch up the bag. So you’ve got plenty of room
to work, ok? Wind of those tips. Kind of twist it around your finger and push it through.
And then the next trick is hang on to the tips and scoot the knot up the tips. Get it
nice and secured like that. And then to make sure you did it right, you can open up your
bag and that knot just fits in right inside of the draw cord. So remember you have the
knots on both sides that way and then you can just grab them and give it a pull and
it’s cinched up.
And really I absolutely love these bags because we took the time to finish all the edges.
These are a fantastic gift item. Fill them up and give them to all your friends. And
while you’re thinking about the perfect gift item, drop your suggestions in the comments
below. Christmas is around the corner and I need to know what to ask for. We’ll catch
you next time at Man Sewing.