Sewing Your Own Drawstring Bags

You have probably seen those little fabric bags that have a piece of yarn or string going through the top, so that you can pull the string and the opening gets all bunched up and closed. These are called drawstring bags. If you have seen them for sale, chances are, they were pretty expensive, or they were holding something expensive. Well, now, you can make your own in 8 easy steps!

An example of a drawstring bag (from Google Images, not mine)

Materials:

• Two fabric squares of any size
• Thread
• Sewing needle
• String or yarn (enough to go all the way around the top of your squares twice)

Time Duration: About one (1) hour

No. of Steps: 8

How To Make It:

1. Make sure that your two fabric squares are about the same size. Don't worry about small differences, because none of the edges will show.
2. Turn the squares inside out (so the front of each square are facing each other). Thread your needle with enough but not too much thread. Decide which end of the squares you want to be the top (left open) and put the first knot on the corner of that end.
3. Sew away from the top (in the direction that leaves the top open) and go as far as you can with that thread. If you need to thread the needle again, that is okay and to be expected. Make sure you finish sewing in the very top corner opposite your first knot. Tie it off.
4. Cut a length of yarn or string that s long enough to go around the top of your fabric square twice with some left over. Flip down the rim of the bag so that the front of the fabric shows (a little less than an inch). Slip the yarn into the crevice that appears. If you don't have enough thread to go all the way around the bag with a bit left over, tie it off and rethread. Begin at the side you finished at, and sew through only one square at a time. Use the over-under stitch and go to about the middle of the next square. 
5. When you get there, cut a very small hole (for the yarn/string to go through) in the layer that is NOT flipped down (this hole goes to the side that is facing the front of the fabric). 
6. Put one OR both ends of string through the hole. If you only put one, cut another hole near the first (but not touching) and string the yarn/string through. 
7. Now, turn your bag inside out. Pull on the strings and close and open the bag until they are about the same length. Cut the strings to about 1 inch more than your desired length. Tie a triple/double-knot near the end of each string. If you have enough string, you can tie a knot through both strings at the hole/s (MAKE SURE THE BAG IS FULLY OPEN).
8. Make any other minor adjustments to your bag until it is exactly how you want it.

Now you have your own drawstring bag!!

Check back soon for pictures of my bags!

MLP: FiM Parasprite

Have you ever seen My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? In the episode Swarm of the Century, these little bugs called Parasprites infest Ponyville. The bugs eat a lot and them spit up more bugs. I thought they were cute, so here is how you make one:

What You'll Need:

• Sewing needle 
• Thread
• Pins
• 4 colors of fabric (for the body(and color), wings and glisten in eye(white), eyes(green), and legs(black)
• Lots of stuffing (if you have enough, you will have extra)

How To Make It:

1. First, you need to print out or copy down the sewing patterns provided for you at the bottom of this post. Be sure they are the size you want.
2. Next, trace your body pattern onto your body fabric. Fold the fabric over so that you will be cutting two layers. Carefully cut around your pattern.
3. Use your eye pattern to make two eyes. You will have to flip one around so it looks right. Sew your eye onto the outside of ONE LAYER of fabric.
4. Then, you can cut out the glisten. You will have to adjust it to get it just right. Sew it onto your eyes wherever you like.
5. Cut out a small smile out of the black fabric. Since the smiles were so small, there was no use making a pattern. You can choose the exact size and shape of your mouth. When you do, sew it on your fabric with the eyes.
6. Next, cut out the legs. On the pattern, it is a rectangle with an oval inside it. Leave the rectangle around it. The oval is the part you will sew together. Sew it so that the inside it on the outside. Then, before you get completely finished sewing it, you need to turn it inside out (technically inside-in)
7. When you are happy with the shape of the parts, you need to turn the body over so the messy side with all the strings is facing you. Do the same with the other side, even though it has no strings. Sew around the edges. Not the over-under stitch, but the stitch where the thread goes up around the edges, forming a loop-looking stitch. You could do the over-under stitch, but the stuffing might get out a little bit. REMEMBER TO LEAVE ROOM IN THE VERY BOTTOM FOR TURNING IT RIGHT-SIDE OUT, STUFFING IT, AND ATTACHING THE LEGS. About an inch and a half space would do.
8. Them, you need to turn it right-side out. Even if it seems like the strings are coming loose, they aren't. If you need to, poke the edges from the inside with a pencil or something. Just to be sure it is all right-side out.
9. Next, you gotta STUFF IT! Just use any old stuffing or even cotton balls for this. Make sure you stuff it enough that when you close the gap, it will still be as firm as you want it, with no unfilled spaces.
10. Now, using those four legs you made, you gotta finish your body. Put a leg in at the beginning of where you want your legs to be. Then one at the very end, and put the other two evenly spaced between them. Sew them on, and while you are sewing these on (through both layers) you will also be closing the gap.
11. Next, using the wing patterns, cut out 8 large wings and 8 small wings. Sew the large wings together first, using the inside-out technique we have used many times earlier. When you are finished, attach one on one side on the back of the body, wherever you like it best. Then you can sew the little pattern in the middle of (that looks like a leaf).
12. Do the same for the other large wing, and try to attach it symmetrical to the first one.
13. Do almost the same with the small ones, except you don't do the leaf pattern (unless you want to).
14. Make any minor adjustments to make your Parasprite exactly how you want, and voila! You have finished your Parasprite! Now, to only come up with a name . . .

Good job!! I hope you enjoy your Parasprite. Also, with left over stuffing, fabric, and felt, you can make cute little friends for your Parasprite, like teensy boxes and spheres! 

Sewing Patterns:

Here is the MLP episode through YouTube.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0iMgyP1Qhc

Here is the MLP episode through DailyMotion.com:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20swarm%20of%20the%20century%20my%20little%20pony&source=video&cd=3&ved=0CE0QtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fxjxayt_my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-episode-10-swarm-of-the-century-youtube_shortfilms&ei=6vmuTveyIYnWgQfCwoT8Dw&usg=AFQjCNGIZsu7olx2TYOqRiXoImzPVSVSXg

A Picture of the Parasprite:

Finger Knitting

Finger knitting was begun in the Native American cultures. It is like loom knitting but with only two stitches in width.

TO BEGIN
Take the end of your yarn, still connected to the yarn ball, and put it between your thumb and pointer, leaving around four inches draping down the back of your hand. This is your tail.

Then take you working yarn, or yarn strand still attached to the yarn ball and wrap it between your pointer and middle. Go behind the middle and over your ring finger. Back behind your pinky and all the way around. Then wrap the yarn between your pinky and ring finger. Front, back, front pattern until your have two stitches on the front of each finger. When with happens, your yarn should be on the thumb direction of your pointer. Let it drape down your palm.

MAKING YOUR FIRST STITCH
Starting with your pinky, take the BOTTOM stitch, pull it up over the top stitch and off of your finger. Let it go. It is okay if it is loose.

Now do the same with your ring finger, and middle. When you get to your pointer, your tail is your bottom stitch. Pull it up and over and let it go over the yarn in between your pointer and middle.

SECOND STITCH
Now you take the working yarn and "reload" the stitch. Now your previously top stitch becomes your bottom stitch. When you get back to the pointer with your working yarn, let it drape down your palm again.

Do the same as before. Now you use the bottom stitch on your pointer to go over instead of a tail. You continue normally until you reach your desired length, like for a scarf, bracelet, or necklace.

TYING OFF
This time you are not going to reload. You have one stitch on each finger. Take the pinky's stitch and put it onto the ring finger. Pull the bottom stitch of the ring finger up and over the top stitch and let it go. Take its top stitch (the pinky's loop that was put onto the ring finger) and put it onto the middle. Repeat the above. Put the loop onto the pointer and do the above. Hold onto the pinky's loop and cut your yarn about three to four inches and put the previously working yarn through the pinky's loop and pul until tight. You can tie a knot now, or wait (if you are tying it to be a bracelet or necklace).

You can pull the tail until tight to 'make it pretty.'

If you are doing a bracelet or necklace, tie the tail and working yarn together at the right length.

TA-DA!!! Good job!

Pictures to come! :)

The Art of Craftiness

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