DIY Easy Drawstring Handbag (Beginner’s Tutorial)

Easy Drawstring Handbag is a sewing step by step tutorial to make a cute handbag for yourself to carry all your belongings or to give it as a present to a friend.

Whether you need a handbag to carry all your belongings, or if you have a good friend’s birthday coming soon, we know you will find it great, the idea of making a cute drawstring bag by yourself.

With this step by step sewing tutorial, all you need to do is to find a pretty fabric to make the handbag!

DIY Easy Drawstring Handbag

For this sewing tutorial, I will be using a Batik fabric, but at home you can use any fabric you want to use, it can be any cotton fabric, or even canva, corduroy or even you can use some patchwork blocks to make this bag.

Materials And Supplies

• 1 piece of fabric for the bag of 12 x 22 inches
• 1 piece of fabric for the lining of 12 x 22 inches
• 2 pieces of fabric from the fabric for the lining of 4 1/2 x 12 inches (interior pockets)
• 2 pieces of fabric from the fabric for the bag of 3 x 13 inches (handles)
• 2 pieces of cotton cord of 24 inches
• Sewing Machine

1 Cut All Your Fabric

Cut all your fabrics to make the drawstring bag.

2 How To Sew The Interior Pockets For The Bag

Take one piece of fabric for the interior pockets at a time and fold the fabric in the middle, sew on the three sides, leave a gap open in one side.

Trim the corners diagonally and turn the inside out, push each corner out from the inside, you can do this step with the point of a rounded point pair of scissors or with a pin from the outside.

Top stitching on the top of each pocket.

3 How To Sew On The Interior Pockets To The Linning

Lay the piece of fabric for the lining on your work table, and fold it in the middle lengthwise, finger press or iron with warm iron to mark the middle.

Measure 2 1/2 inch from the top on both sides and mark the line.

Take one pocket at a time, and fold in the middle, finger press to mark the middle and place each pocket in the middle with the top side facing each side of the bag, pinch a few pins to hold each pocket on its place and sew on three sides of the pocket, leave the top open.

Reinforce the stitching at the beginning and at the end.

4 How To Sew On The Handles For The Handbag

Take one piece of fabric for the handle at a time, and fold the piece of fabric in the middle lengthwise, finger press the middle or press with warm iron, open the piece of fabric and fold each side lengthwise to the center and finger press or press with warm iron.

Fold the piece in the middle lengthwise like a bias, top stitching both sides.

Do the same steps with the second handle.

5 How To Sew On The Handles To The Handbag

Lay the piece of fabric for the bag on your work table and fold in the middle each side, finger press the center point or mark it with a pin.

Measure 2 1/4 inch on each side and place one edge of the handle on each side, pinch a pin on each end, do the same with the other handle on the other side of the piece of fabric.

Sew on both handles to the fabric with 1/8 inch seam allowance.

6 How To Cut The Boxed Botton On The Bag

Take both pieces of fabric for the bag and for the lining on your work table and fold each piece in the middle, with your ruler trace a mark on each bottom corner of 2 1/4 x 2 inches.

Note: 2 1/4 inch line should be horizontal and the 2 inches line should be vertical.

7 Cut The Bag Boxed Bottom

With a good pair of scissors for fabric, cut out each bottom corner.

8 How To Sew On The Handbag

Lay on your work table the fabric for the bag, pretty side up and lay over it the fabric for the lining, pretty side down, pinch a few pins on top sides of the bag.

Sew on both top sides of the bag, 3/8 inch seam allowance.

9 How To Sew The Both Sides Of The Bag.

Open the bag to fold it with the fabric for the bag on one side and the fabric for the lining on the other side, open the seam on the top.

Pinch a few pins on both sides of the bag, and sew on both sides.

Note: When sewing both sides of the lining, leave on one side a gap open (2 inches) to turn inside out of the bag later.

When sewing both sides of the fabric for the bag, you need to leave on both sides a gap open 3/4 inch from 1 inch from the top. This will be the channel for the cord. Reinforce the stitching.

Open the seams and press.

10 How To Sew The Boxed Bottom On The Bag

Open each bottom corner, and match well the two sides of the fabric on each corner, sew on 1/4 inch seam allowance and reinforce the stitching at the beginning and at the end.

11 How To Turn Out The Inside Out Of The Handbag

Turn the inside out from the gap you left open on one side of the lining. Once you have the bag as it’s shown on the image below, sew on to close the gap.

12 How To Sew On The Cord Channels On The Handbag

Tuck in the lining in the bag and press the top of the bag, stitch on 1/2 inch from the top of the bag all around, reinforce the stitching at the end.

Stitch on once again 1/2 inch from the first stitching, reinforce the stitching at the end.

13 Thread The Cord

With the help of a safety pin, thread the cord in the channel, you will need to thread each cord from each side of the bag, make a knot on each cord.

The Easy Drawstring Handbag is finished and it looks amazing!

Easy Drawstring Handbag, Closing Thoughts

Whether you make the Easy Drawstring Handbag for yourself or as a present for a friend, we are sure after you make the first one, you’ll be making more!

You can make the drawstring handbag with a pretty cotton fabric or with other type of fabric as linen, denim, or canva, it will look fantastic!

You can find more sewing tutorials to make a fabric bag here:

• DIY Reversible Bag For Girls –
• Reversible Tote Bag (Easy Sewing Tutorial)

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