Prepare the Drawstring

We’re making our own fabric Drawstring to coordinate with the bag, but you can substitute purchased strapping if you’d like.

This pattern works best with a Drawstring up to approximately ½” wide. If you use something significantly narrower, keep in mind that it may not create as much resistance in the Drawstring Channel, which can make it harder for the bag to stay closed.

To make your fabric Drawstring, fold both long raw edges inward toward the center and press. Fold the strip in half lengthwise again, enclosing the raw edges, and press.

Topstitch along both long sides to secure the folds.

We’re sewing through four layers of lightweight denim, and the Creator Series C35 heavy-duty machine handles them effortlessly.

Set the finished Drawstring aside. We’ll come back to it later.

Construct the Lining

Fold the Lining in half right sides together, aligning the raw side edges. Stitch along the edge using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Along the raw edge, mark a 4” opening near the center. Stitch the seam, stopping at your first mark and beginning again at the second so the opening remains unsewn.

Don’t close that opening! We’ll use it at the very end to turn the entire bag right side out.

How to Sew Boxed Corners

This technique may look a little confusing the first time you try it, but it’s much easier once the fabric is in your hands.

At one bottom corner, pull the two layers of fabric apart and flatten the corner so the side seam runs directly through the center of the point. The corner will naturally form a triangle.

Make sure everything is lying flat and the seam is centered.

Measure 1½” inward from the pointed tip and draw a straight line across the triangle, perpendicular to the seam.

That’s your stitching line.

Stitch directly across the marked line, backstitching at the beginning and end. Trim away the triangular excess, leaving approximately a ¼” seam allowance beyond your stitching.

Repeat on the opposite corner.

You just created a boxed bottom!

Set the Lining aside while we prepare the Outer Bag.

Construct the Outer Bag

Fold your Outer Bag piece in half right sides together, just as you did with the Lining.

If you’re using directional fabric, take a moment to identify which end will become the top of your bag before sewing.

From the top raw edge, measure and mark 3” down.

Beginning at that mark, sew down the remaining raw edge. This leaves the top 3” open for our Drawstring Channel.

Open the Outer Bag so the stitched seam is centered and press the seam allowance open.

At the unsewn 3” section, fold the raw edges toward the wrong side of the fabric and press. Topstitch along each folded edge to create a clean, reinforced opening.

Now we’re ready to bring our two bag pieces together.

Join the Outer Bag & Lining

Turn the Lining right side out while leaving the Outer Bag wrong side out.

Slide the Lining inside the Outer Bag.

The right sides of the two fabrics should now be facing each other.

Align the top raw edges and match the center seams. Pin or clip around the entire opening.

Sew completely around the top using a ¼” seam allowance.

Now pull the Lining out and turn the project so you can begin forming the Drawstring Channel.

Create the Drawstring Channel

Push the Lining down inside the Outer Bag and arrange everything neatly.

Fold approximately 1” of the Outer Bag down toward the inside, creating the top of your Drawstring Channel. Make sure the seam allowance from where the Outer Bag and Lining meet is directed downward inside the bag.

Press and pin the fold in place.

Stitch close to the seam where the Lining and Outer Bag meet, securing the folded channel around the entire bag.

Reinforce the Drawstring Opening

The openings of a drawstring bag receive plenty of pulling and friction, so we’ll give ours a little extra reinforcement.

At each opening, mark approximately ½–¾” down from the top folded edge.

Beginning at one mark, stitch toward the bottom of the opening. Pivot and sew across the bottom of the opening, backstitching over this short section a few times for extra reinforcement, then pivot again and sew back toward the opposite mark.

This creates a reinforced opening while slightly narrowing the entrance to the Drawstring Channel, helping give the Drawstring a little resistance when the bag is closed.

Add the Drawstring

Grab the Drawstring you made earlier and attach a safety pin to one end.

Feed the safety pin into one Drawstring Channel opening and work it all the way around the bag until it exits through the opening on the opposite side.

Continue pulling until you have approximately the same amount of Drawstring extending from each opening.

Before moving on, lay the bag flat and make sure the Drawstring hasn’t twisted inside the channel.

Now we’re going to do a little flipping back and forth—but this is what gives us that beautifully finished construction!

Finish the Bottom of the Bag

Turn the bag so you can access the wrong side of the Outer Bag and Lining again.

Align the raw bottom edges and center the seam, then stitch the bottom closed.

The Outer Bag corners are going to work a little differently because we’re using them to secure the ends of our Drawstring.

Flatten one bottom corner into the same triangular shape, making sure the seam is centered.

Measure 1½” from the pointed end and mark your stitching line.

But don’t stitch yet!

Instead, trim the corner ¼” beyond your marked line, leaving a straight raw opening where the boxed corner will be sewn.

Repeat on the opposite side.

Turn the bag right side out again and lay it flat.

Take one loose end of the Drawstring and feed it down to the corresponding bottom corner. A safety pin can be really helpful for keeping the Drawstring exactly where you want it.

Repeat with the other end, making sure your Drawstring remains untwisted.

Through the opening in the liner, turn the Outer Bag wrong side out one last time.

Pull each Drawstring end through its corresponding open boxed corner. Center the Drawstring along the corner seam and pin or clip it securely between the fabric layers.

Stitch directly across your 1½” marked line, backstitching securely.

Repeat on the opposite corner.

And just like that, you’ve created your boxed bottom and permanently secured your Drawstring ends at the same time!

One Final Flip!

Reach through the 4” opening you left in the Lining and carefully turn the entire bag right side out.

Push out the boxed corners and arrange the Lining neatly inside.

Fold the seam allowances at the Lining opening inward, give the edge a quick press, and stitch it closed with coordinating thread.

Push the Lining back inside your bag, pull the Drawstring…

And you’re done! 🎉

You just made a fully lined drawstring bag with a boxed bottom, finished channel, and built-in fabric straps.

Make It Yours!

The construction may be simple, but that’s exactly what makes this project such a great blank canvas.

Add a front pocket. Sew on patches. Quilt the denim before construction. Embroider a name. Mix contrasting fabrics. Or put another skill from this series to work and add machine-appliquéd lettering using the FREE alphabet from Project #6!

This is one of those patterns you can come back to again and again, changing the fabric and details to make an entirely different bag each time.

And after 10 Sew in Style projects, that’s a pretty fitting way to finish our series: taking the techniques we’ve learned along the way and using them to make something completely our own.

Built for Projects That Ask for a Little More

A beginner-friendly project doesn’t always mean lightweight sewing.

For this drawstring bag, we chose denim for the outer fabric, which means some areas quickly build up multiple layers—especially when making the fabric Drawstring and securing it into the boxed corners.

That’s exactly why we reached for the NECCHI Creator Series C35 Heavy Duty Sewing Machine.

Meet the NECCHI Creator Series C35 Heavy Duty

More Power for More Possibilities

The NECCHI C35 combines straightforward, mechanical controls with the extra strength you want when your projects start getting a little heavier.

Throughout this project, we moved from simple seams to folded denim, layered bag construction, topstitching, and bulky boxed corners. The C35 handled those transitions beautifully, giving us the power to work with our lightweight denim while keeping the sewing process simple.

That makes it a great machine for sewists who want to tackle everyday projects while having the freedom to experiment with bags, denim, home décor, quilting, garments, and more.

C35 Features to Love

Ready to Put the C35 to Work?

The NECCHI Creator Series C35 Heavy Duty is available through authorized NECCHI dealers. Visit a dealer near you to learn more, see the C35 in person, and find the right NECCHI machine for the projects you want to create.

That’s a Wrap on our Back-to-School Sewing Series🎉

10 projects. 10 opportunities to learn, experiment, and make something new.

We started this series with one goal: to make sewing feel fun, useful, and worth jumping into—whether you’re sitting down at a sewing machine for the first time or simply looking for an excuse to try a new technique.

And look at everything we’ve made along the way!

Throughout the Sew in Style Back-to-School Sewing Series, we’ve tackled zippers, appliqué, vinyl, mesh, water-resistant fabrics, bias binding, quilt-as-you-go, boxed corners, custom sizing, and so much more.

Along the way, we’ve also created a growing collection of FREE sewing resources you can save and use beyond the original projects, from printable templates and an appliqué alphabet to custom sizing tools and helpful cut guides.

So even though Project #10 is officially finished…

Your next project doesn’t have to be.

Missed one along the way? Want to go back and try a technique you skipped? Or just discovered Sew in Style?

All 10 FREE projects are waiting for you.

Sew in Style may be wrapping up, but we’re definitely not done creating.

Keep following NECCHI for more free sewing projects, beginner-friendly tutorials, sewing tips, inspiration, and new ways to put your machine to work.

And if you’ve made something from the series, we want to see it!

Share your finished projects and tag @Necchi.us so we can follow along with what you’re creating.

Because the best part about learning a new sewing technique isn’t making it exactly like we did.

It’s taking what you’ve learned and making it completely your own.