DIY Drawstring Laundry Bag Tutorial: Sew Your Own in Just One Afternoon
If you’ve ever tossed a delicate blouse into a shared laundry hamper and pulled it out looking like it lost a wrestling match, you already understand the value of a good laundry bag. A drawstring laundry bag is one of the most practical things you can sew, and it’s a perfect project whether you’re a complete beginner or someone who just wants a quick, satisfying make. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a durable, fully functional drawstring laundry bag you can use for delicates, travel, kids’ sports gear, or everyday laundry — and you’ll have made it yourself for a fraction of what you’d pay in a store.
Let’s walk through everything you need to know, from choosing the right fabric to tying off the final knot.
Why Make Your Own Laundry Bag?
Before we dive into the steps, it’s worth pausing to appreciate why a handmade laundry bag beats anything you’d pick up at a big-box store. Store-bought mesh bags tend to fall apart quickly — zippers break, seams split, and the material pills. When you make your own, you control the size, the fabric, the drawstring length, and the overall quality of construction.
A homemade laundry bag is also a deeply practical gift. Heading off to college, moving into a new apartment, hosting a housewarming? A personalized laundry bag made from fun fabric takes almost no time to sew and is infinitely more thoughtful than a gift card. You can scale the size up for bulky items like towels and jeans or scale it down for lingerie and socks. You can use cotton mesh for breathability, ripstop nylon for durability, or quilting cotton if you want something that’s pretty enough to hang on a hook in a stylish bathroom.
Best of all, this is genuinely a beginner-friendly project. If you can sew a straight line, you can make this bag.
Materials You’ll Need
Gathering your supplies before you start will save you from mid-project scrambling. Here’s what to have on hand.
Fabric. For a standard-sized laundry bag that’s roomy enough for a week’s worth of clothes, you’ll need about one yard of fabric. Tightly woven cotton, canvas, linen, or a cotton-polyester blend all work beautifully. Mesh fabric is a popular choice for delicates bags because it allows water and detergent to circulate freely. If you want a bag that can pull double duty as a decorative hamper liner, look for a fun printed cotton in a pattern you love. Avoid very slippery fabrics like satin or silk for your first attempt — they’re harder to control on a sewing machine.
Drawstring cord or ribbon. You’ll need approximately 72 inches (about two yards) of cord. Cotton rope, nylon paracord, grosgrain ribbon, and even a strip of fabric all work well. Aim for something between ¼ inch and ½ inch wide — thin enough to thread through your casing, thick enough to hold a knot comfortably.
Thread. Choose a thread that matches or coordinates with your fabric. All-purpose polyester thread is durable and works well for utility projects like this one.
A sewing machine. This project is technically doable by hand, but a sewing machine will give you stronger seams and save you significant time. If you’re new to sewing, this is an ideal first or second machine project.
Basic sewing supplies. You’ll want scissors or a rotary cutter and cutting mat, straight pins or wonder clips, a seam ripper (just in case), an iron and ironing board, a ruler or measuring tape, and a fabric marker or chalk for marking.
A safety pin or bodkin. You’ll use this to thread your drawstring through the casing at the top of the bag. A large safety pin works perfectly and is probably already in your sewing kit.
Choosing Your Fabric: A Closer Look
The fabric you choose will determine how your finished bag performs, so it’s worth thinking through your options.
Cotton canvas or duck cloth is an excellent all-around choice. It’s sturdy, widely available, easy to sew, and comes in dozens of colors and patterns. A canvas laundry bag will hold its shape, withstand being dragged across a dorm room floor, and last for years with regular use.
Cotton quilting fabric is a great option if you want something lightweight and decorative. It won’t be quite as rugged as canvas, but for a delicates bag or a travel laundry bag that spends most of its time in a suitcase, it’s perfect.
Ripstop nylon is the choice for durability-focused makers. It’s water-resistant, incredibly strong, and very lightweight, making it ideal for gym bags or bags that will be tossed around a lot. It does require a bit more care when sewing — use a sharp needle and a slightly longer stitch length.
Mesh or laundry net fabric is ideal if the bag will go directly into the washing machine with your clothes inside. The open weave allows water and detergent to reach the items inside without you needing to remove them from the bag first.
If you’re unsure, start with a cotton canvas or a mid-weight quilting cotton. Both are forgiving, easy to handle, and widely available at any fabric store or online.
How to Cut Your Fabric
For a standard laundry bag that measures approximately 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall when finished, you’ll cut two fabric rectangles, each measuring 20 inches wide by 30 inches tall. The extra inches account for seam allowances and the drawstring casing at the top.
If you want a smaller bag — say, for delicates or travel — cut two pieces at 14 inches wide by 18 inches tall. For an extra-large bag meant for bulky items, go up to 24 inches wide by 36 inches tall.
Lay your fabric on a flat surface and use a ruler and fabric marker to draw your rectangles before cutting. Take your time here — a square, accurate cut will make the rest of the project significantly easier.
Step-by-Step: How to Sew a Drawstring Laundry Bag
Now for the fun part.
Step 1: Press Your Fabric
Before you sew a single stitch, iron your fabric. This sounds like a minor detail, but it makes a real difference. Pressed fabric is easier to pin, feeds through the machine more smoothly, and results in cleaner seams. Give both pieces a good press and set them aside.
Step 2: Create the Drawstring Casing
On each fabric piece, fold the top edge down by ½ inch and press with your iron. Then fold it down again by 1 inch and press again. Pin the fold in place. This double-fold creates the casing through which your drawstring will be threaded. Sew along the bottom edge of this fold, backstitching at both the beginning and end to secure your seam. Leave the sides of the casing open — you’ll need that opening to thread the drawstring through later. Repeat this step on the second fabric piece.
Step 3: Pin the Two Pieces Together
Place your two fabric pieces together with the right sides facing each other. The casings you just sewed should be aligned at the top. Pin along the two sides and the bottom, leaving the casing area unpinned. You should have a rectangle of pinned fabric in front of you that’s inside-out.
Step 4: Sew the Sides and Bottom
Using a ½-inch seam allowance, sew along the two sides and the bottom of the bag, backstitching at the beginning and end of each seam. When you reach the top of each side seam, stop sewing when you hit the bottom of the casing — don’t sew through the folded casing or you’ll close off the channel where your drawstring will go.
Take a moment here to check your corners. A great trick for clean, strong corners is to pivot your fabric with the needle down when you reach each bottom corner, then sew across the bottom edge. This keeps everything aligned and gives you a tidy 90-degree corner.
Step 5: Finish Your Seams
This step is optional but highly recommended, especially if you’re making a bag that will be washed regularly. Finishing your seams prevents the raw edges inside the bag from fraying over time. If your sewing machine has a zigzag stitch, sew a zigzag along each raw seam allowance. If you have a serger, even better. If you don’t want to bother with this step on your first try, it’s okay to skip it — the bag will still function perfectly well.
Step 6: Turn the Bag Right Side Out
Reach inside the bag and gently pull it right side out through the open top. Push out the bottom corners with a blunt tool — a chopstick, a pencil, or a point turner all work well. Give the bag a press with your iron, paying particular attention to the seams and corners.
Step 7: Thread Your Drawstring
Here’s where that safety pin comes in. Attach a large safety pin to one end of your drawstring cord. Starting at one open side of the casing on one fabric panel, feed the safety pin through the casing, across the top of one fabric panel, back out the other open side, and then into the casing on the second fabric panel, threading it all the way across and back out the other side. You should end up with both ends of the cord coming out of the same side of the bag.
Pull both ends to gather the top of the bag and check that the drawstring moves freely and smoothly. If it’s catching or bunching, try threading it through again — sometimes the cord can twist inside the casing.
Step 8: Knot the Ends
Tie a sturdy knot at each end of the drawstring to prevent it from being pulled back through the casing accidentally. A simple overhand knot works, but a double knot will hold even better. You can also add a large bead or button to each end for a decorative touch and extra grip.
Pull the drawstring tight, and your bag is complete.
Tips for a Better Finish
A few small details can elevate your bag from a basic utility project to something that looks genuinely polished.
Reinforce the casing opening. The point where the drawstring exits the casing gets a lot of stress. Sew a small rectangle or bartack stitch at each opening to reinforce it. This takes about thirty seconds and will significantly extend the life of your bag.
Add a label. If you’re making bags for a household with multiple people, sew a small fabric label to the outside with initials or a color-coded ribbon. You’ll never fight over whose laundry bag is whose again.
Use contrasting thread. If you want your stitching to be a visible design element rather than something to hide, choose a thread color that pops against your fabric. It gives the bag a graphic, intentional look.
Try French seams for a cleaner interior. If you want the inside of your bag to look as finished as the outside, French seams are the way to go. Instead of sewing the pieces right sides together, sew them wrong sides together first with a small seam allowance, trim the seam, then fold them right sides together and sew again, encasing the raw edges inside. The result is a bag with no exposed fraying edges at all.
Variations to Try
Once you’ve made one basic drawstring laundry bag, you’ll want to make more. Here are a few variations to keep things interesting.
Double-fabric bag with a lining. Sew an inner bag from a contrasting fabric and slip it inside the outer bag before you finish the casing. Tack the two bags together at the casing seam. The result is a beautifully finished bag that’s reversible and looks impressive with very little extra effort.
Wet bag with water-resistant lining. Use PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric or ripstop nylon as a lining for a bag that can hold wet swimsuits, gym clothes, or cloth diapers without leaking. The construction is the same; only the lining fabric changes.
Oversized floor hamper bag. Scale your pattern up to about 28 inches wide by 40 inches tall and use heavy canvas or duck cloth. Add two rope handles near the top alongside your drawstring for a bag that functions as a proper floor hamper. It’s far sturdier than most store-bought options and can be tossed directly into the washing machine when you’re ready to clean it.
No-sew version. In a pinch, you can make a passable drawstring bag by cutting a large square of fabric, using fabric glue or iron-on hem tape to fold and secure the casing, and threading a cord through. It won’t be as durable as a sewn bag, but for a temporary solution or a crafting activity with kids, it works.
Caring for Your Handmade Laundry Bag
Your finished bag can go straight into the washing machine on a regular basis — that’s the whole point. Wash it in cold water on a gentle cycle and tumble dry on low, or hang it to dry to extend its life. If your fabric wasn’t pre-washed before you cut and sewed it, expect a little shrinkage on the first wash, which is completely normal.
If your drawstring ever gets knotted or stuck inside the casing, resist the urge to yank it out. Instead, work the cord back gently and re-thread it using your safety pin if needed.
Final Thoughts
A drawstring laundry bag is one of those projects where the simplicity of the construction belies how useful the end result is. You’ll use it constantly, wonder how you managed without it, and probably want to make three or four more in different sizes. It’s the kind of project that reminds you why learning to sew was such a good idea in the first place.
Whether you’re tackling this as your very first sewing project or knocking it out in an afternoon between bigger makes, the steps are the same: good fabric, careful cutting, clean seams, and a drawstring that pulls smoothly. That’s really all there is to it. Now go enjoy the satisfaction of doing your laundry in a bag you made with your own hands.
