How to sew a lined, drawstring pouch with boxed corners

Lined Drawstring Pouch with boxed corners

Versatile and attractive! Store your bits and pieces with style!

You will need:

Two complimentary pieces of fabric measuring 9” x 22” (A quarter yard and half WOF*), and about 24” of tie. This project calls for the usual collection of sewing tools and equipment such as sewing machine, ruler, cutting mat, rotary cutter, etc.

*Batch sew tip!

Trim off any selvages and press both pieces of fabric flat. 

Outer Fabric will be referred to as (A)

Inner Fabric will be referred to as (B)

Fold both pieces of fabric in half with right sides together.

Sew ½” seam allowance on both sides of folded fabric. Press both pieces flat. Trim the seams to 1/4” width.  

Create Boxed Corners on each piece as follows. 

On Fabric A,

At bottom corners, mark 1” away from the sewn seam. Mark 1” up from the folded bottom. Draw a diagonal line from the intersection of the two lines down to the seam. Repeat on other side of fabric. Do this to all four corners. Pinch fabric to match the diagonal lines on each corner. Pin. Sew a stitch line from top to bottom of the corner. It is preferable to do this on the side where the seam is so you can sew it open. Trim excess fabric. Turn right sides out to inspect the boxed corner. Adjust as needed.

Repeat with Fabric B.

Next, turn both Fabric A and B inside out. Place A inside B, matching raw edges. (Right sides are facing one another) Match side seams accurately. Sew a ½” seam around the open perimeter leaving a 2-3” gap. After sewing, turn the fabric right sides out through the gap. Tuck Fabric B down inside Fabric A. Press. Tip: Before tucking lining inside outer fabric, give a gentle tug to stretch out the fabrics away from one another. Press the seam where they meet, then tuck the lining inside. This will give you a crisp top edge.

Measure approximately double the width of whatever tie you will be using. For example, if using a ⅜” binding for the tie, allow just shy of 1” turned down fabric. The tie will be inserted through button holes after the turned down edge is sewn. At this stage you may turn the fabric down and press but this is not necessary.

A perfect size. Not too big, and not too small. Just right!

Find the exact center of one of the sides. (Tip: match the side seams together and the exact center is opposite those matched seams). This will become the front of the pouch. Mark the center. Sew two button holes on either side of that center using thread that matches Fabric B. Turn Fabric B down to Fabric A in preparation for sewing final seam and inserting the tie. Sew around turned down fabric B with a seam close to the edge of Fabric A. Fasten a safety pin to the end of the tie and insert it into one of the button holes. Feed the tie through the channel to the remaining button hole. Allow several extra inches of tie sticking out of the button holes. Cut the excess tie away. Being careful not to twist the ties, match the right sides of the ends of the ties together and sew back and forth across the ends a couple of times to ensure they don’t come undone. Manipulate the sewn ends back into the channel to one of the side seams. Fasten with a few tack stitches in the ditch.

Tighten the ties and cinch the pouch closed. Use a simple, loose knot to keep the pouch closed.

Fill it with whatever you desire and admire your handiwork!

*WOF stands for width of fabric. Most quilting cottons are 44” wide off the bolt. Therefore using half the WOF at a quarter yard wide (9”) is an easy measurement to cut and prepare. Simply fold the full WOF in half, mark, and slice across with a rotary cutter. Ask the fabric shop to give you a quarter yard, or, in Canada, just shy of a quarter meter.

*Batch sew tip!:

Purchase two pieces of coordinating fabric as per the instructions. Each piece is long enough (44”) to be divided into two for the necessary 22” length. Follow the instructions and make two lined bags at a time. Keep one for yourself and give one to a bestie as a special gift!

You may watch the entire process as a video on my YouTube channel, @gallopsews.