How to Sew a Quilted Drawstring Glasses Pouch
There’s something extra special about creating projects that are both beautiful and functional. With the arrival of my debut collaborative fabric collection, GeoBloom for Art Gallery Fabrics. You can take a closer look at the full collection here.
In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to sew a handy drawstring bag that’s just the right size for your reading glasses or sunglasses, featuring the Flowering Tulip foundation paper pieced quilt block. It’s a sweet little make that comes together quickly and makes for a thoughtful handmade gift—or a treat for yourself.
Before you begin, make sure you download the Flowering Tulip quilt block so you can follow along. Below are the fabrics I used from the GeoBloom fabric collection to create these Flowering Tulip blocks:
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
· Pieced Flowering Tulip quilt block. Download the block pattern here.
· Basic sewing machine
· Rotary cutter
· Quilting ruler(s)
· Cutting mat
· Coordinating quilting cotton. Cut:
o Back of Bag Fabric: one (1) 4½in x 8½in rectangle
o Lining Fabric: two (2) 4½in x 8½in rectangles
o Drawstring Casing Fabric: two (2) 2½in x 4in rectangles
· Batting: two (2) 8" x 12" rectangles
· Sewing pins
· Iron
· Coordinating thread, 50wt cotton
· Basting spray or pins
· Heramarker
· Walking foot
· Fabric pen or pencil
· Measuring tape (optional)
· Coordinating drawstring or cord rope: two (2) 11in pieces
· Point turner (optional)
· Seam sealant or lighter (optional)
· Safety pin
DIRECTIONS
Quilt Block Assembly
Step 1: The front of the draw string bag is made up of a Flowering Tulip quilt block. Download the quilt block here.
Step 2: Assemble Flowering Tulip quilt block. Set Quilt Block aside for Basting section.
Drawstring Casing
Step 1: Turn each drawstring rectangle wrong side facing up. At the shorter ends of each rectangle, fold raw edges towards the centre of the rectangle twice. Eye ball about ¼" for each fold. Then secure the folds in place by sewing a straight stitch along the edge. In doing this, this will prevent the fabric from fraying when opening and closing the bag.
Step 2: Press each rectangle in half lengthwise to complete the drawstring casings. There should be two drawstring casings. Set casings aside for Bag Assembly section.
Lining
Step 1: Take one Lining Fabric 4½in x 8½in rectangle. Rotate it so the shorter ends are on the top and bottom and mark two 1" guidelines from the bottom corners, on the wrong side of the fabric.
Step 2: With right sides together, starting from the top right corner of the bag lining, sew along the long edge, turn and pivot the bag, and sew along the bottom edge and stop at the marked guideline from the precious step. Then start at the second guide, sew along the bottom edge, turn and pivot the bag and sew along the long edge. Leave the top edge open. The small opening at the bottom of the bag will be used to turn the bag right side out in the Bag Assembly section later. Also, don’t forget to reverse stitch at the start and end of each seam for additional enforcement.
Step 3: Carefully clip the bottom two corners without cutting the seam to create a crisp and flat finish. Set bag lining aside for Bag Assembly section.
Basting and Quilting
Step 1: Place Quilt Block on top of one Batting rectangle, wrong side of quilt block touching the batting. Spray or pin baste between the batting and the Quilt Block. Repeat this step with the second piece of batting and one (1) Lining Fabric 4½in x 8½in rectangle.
Step 2: Use heramarker and quilting ruler to mark decorative quilting guidelines, as desired on each quilt sandwich.
Step 3: Adjust the seam length on the sewing machine to 3.0-3.5 and sew on marked guidelines.
Step 4: With a quilting ruler and rotary cutter, square and trim off excess fabric and wadding. Trimmed quilt sandwiches each measure 4½in x 8½in rectangle.
Bag Exterior Assembly
Step 1: Similar to the Lining, with right sides together, pin two pieces of the quilt sandwiches (from the previous step) together. Secure the two pieces together by sewing along the long edges and the bottom shorter edge, creating an opening at the top of the bag.
Tip: When sewing the quilt sandwiches together, make sure the floral design at the front of the bag is positioned correctly in relation to the bag opening. You don’t want the floral design to be upside down when opening and closing the bag.
Step 2: Carefully clip the bottom two corners without cutting into the seam to create a crisp and flat finish. Turn bag inside out, and use a point turner or tip of scissors to poke the corners out to complete bag exterior.
Bag Assembly
Step 1: Ensure bag exterior is facing right side out. Line up raw edge of drawstring casing to the raw edge of the bag exterior. Centre the casing, and pin. Ensure one (1) Drawstring Casing is pinned to the front of the bag, and the second Drawstring Casing is pinned to the bag back.
Step 2: Take bag lining, wrong side facing out. Slide bag exterior inside bag lining. Therefore, right sides of bag exterior and lining are facing each other. Start at one side of the bag. Line up side seams and raw edges. Pin bag exterior and lining together. When pinning, ensure the side seams on the exterior and lining are open to reduce bulk. Repeat with the second side of the bag. Then, put pins in between the sides to hold the bag exterior and lining in place.
Step 3: On the sewing machine, sew ¼" seam from the raw edge to secure the bag exterior, lining and drawstring casings.
Step 4: At the bottom of the lining, use the hole to carefully flip the bag right side out.
Step 5: Go back to the sewing machine, edge stitch to close up the hole at the bottom of the lining.
Step 6: Push the lining inside of the bag. Press the top opening of the bag to ensure bag is flat, and use coordinating thread to sew approx. ¼" below the drawstring casing. This seam will provide additional enforcement and prevent the lining from coming out of the bag.
Inserting Drawstring
Step 1: On the end of each drawstring cord, use a seam sealant or wave a lighter under freshly cut ends to stop the cords from fraying. The lighter melts the fibres together and only works on synthetic materials like polyester, and not cotton.
Step 2: Take one of the drawstring cords, and attach a safety pin on at one end. Starting from the top drawstring casing, thread cord from the left to right. Then thread cord through the bottom drawstring casing from right to left. Remove safety pin and tie ends together.
Step 3: This step is the opposite of the previous step. Take the second drawstring cord, attach the safety pin on at the on end. Starting from the top drawstring casing again, but this time thread the cord from the right to the left. Then thread cord through the bottom drawstring casing from left to right. Remove safety pin and tie ends together.
Step 4: Trim loose threads to complete the project.
Who knew a single quilt block could become such a useful everyday companion? The Flowering Tulip makes a sweet, practical statement as a drawstring glasses case—and it’s a quick sew you’ll want to make again and again.
I can’t wait to see how you stitch yours! Share your makes with @the.weekendquilter and the hashtag #FloweringTulipBlock so we can inspire each other.