How to Make Drawstring Box Bags: A Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial

If you’ve been searching for a sewing project that’s both practical and satisfying to make, a drawstring box bag might be exactly what you’re looking for. These structured little bags are endlessly versatile — you can use them to store jewelry, organize your craft supplies, package handmade gifts, or keep your desk tidy. Unlike a flat drawstring pouch, the box bag has a flat, squared-off bottom that gives it real shape and the ability to stand on its own. Once you learn the technique, you’ll want to make them in every size and fabric combination imaginable.

This tutorial walks you through everything you need to know, from choosing the right materials to finishing the last stitch. Whether you’re a beginner who has only made a few simple projects or an intermediate sewist looking to add a new pattern to your repertoire, you’ll find this method approachable and thoroughly explained.

What Is a Drawstring Box Bag?

Before we get into the cutting and sewing, it helps to understand what makes a box bag different from a regular pouch. A standard drawstring bag is essentially a rectangle of fabric folded in half, sewn on the sides, with a channel at the top for a cord or ribbon. It’s flat, and it stays flat.

A box bag adds one extra step: boxing the corners. This means you cut small squares out of the bottom corners of your sewn rectangle and then stitch those corners closed in a way that creates a three-dimensional base. The result is a bag with a defined bottom that can stand upright and hold its shape even when filled with items.

These bags are sometimes called box-bottom bags, flat-bottom pouches, or structured drawstring bags. Whatever the name, the technique is the same, and once you’ve made one, you’ll recognize it everywhere — in store-bought cosmetic bags, market totes, and gift packaging.

Materials and Tools You’ll Need

Getting your supplies organized before you begin makes the whole process smoother. Here’s what you’ll need for a standard-sized drawstring box bag, roughly 7 inches wide by 8 inches tall with a 3-inch base.

Fabric: You’ll need an outer fabric and a lining fabric. For the outer bag, choose something with a bit of body — quilting cotton is a great beginner choice, as is canvas, linen, or a medium-weight home décor fabric. Avoid very stretchy fabrics or very sheer fabrics for your first attempt. For the lining, quilting cotton works beautifully. You’ll need approximately a quarter yard of each fabric for one bag of the size described here.

Interfacing: If your outer fabric is on the lighter side, a fusible woven interfacing will give your bag the structure it needs to hold its box shape. This is optional if you’re using canvas or a heavier fabric.

Drawstring cord or ribbon: You’ll need two pieces of cord, each about 25 to 30 inches long. Cotton cord, satin ribbon, grosgrain ribbon, or even a strip of fabric cut on the bias all work well. The cord needs to fit through whatever size channel you sew at the top of the bag.

A cord stopper or button (optional): If you want the drawstring to stay closed, a cord lock or a small button tied at the ends of the cord works perfectly.

Thread: Match your thread to your outer fabric for the cleanest finish.

Basic sewing tools: You’ll need fabric scissors or a rotary cutter and mat, a ruler, pins or fabric clips, an iron and ironing board, a seam ripper (just in case), a safety pin or bodkin for threading the cord, and a sewing machine. You can hand-sew this bag if you prefer, but a machine will give you stronger, more consistent seams.

Cutting Your Fabric

For this tutorial, the finished bag will measure approximately 7 inches wide, 8 inches tall, and have a 3-inch boxed bottom. Adjust the measurements to make larger or smaller versions.

Cut the following pieces:

Outer fabric: Two rectangles, each 9 inches wide by 14 inches tall.

Lining fabric: Two rectangles, each 9 inches wide by 14 inches tall.

Interfacing (if using): Two pieces to match the outer fabric rectangles.

If you’re using fusible interfacing, apply it to the wrong side of your outer fabric pieces now, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Press firmly with a hot, dry iron and allow it to cool completely before moving on.

Step One: Sew the Outer Bag

Place your two outer fabric rectangles right sides together, aligning all the edges carefully. Pin or clip the side and bottom edges in place.

Using a half-inch seam allowance, stitch down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side. Leave the top edge open. Backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam to secure the stitching.

Press the seams open with your iron. This gives your bag a flatter, more professional look.

Step Two: Box the Bottom Corners

This is the step that transforms your flat pouch into a structured box bag, and it’s much simpler than it sounds.

Keeping the outer bag inside out, pinch one of the bottom corners and pull it open so that the side seam and the bottom seam line up directly on top of each other, forming a pointed triangle. Flatten this triangle so that the seam runs right down the center.

Measure 1.5 inches from the tip of the triangle and draw a straight line across the corner perpendicular to the seam. This will create a 3-inch base when you’re done. Pin across that line, then stitch across it carefully.

Trim the corner about a quarter inch from your stitching line, then finish the raw edge with a zigzag stitch or a serger if you have one.

Repeat this exact process on the other bottom corner. When you turn the bag right side out, you’ll see that satisfying flat bottom take shape.

Step Three: Sew the Lining

Repeat the same process for your lining fabric. Place the two lining rectangles right sides together, pin the sides and bottom, and stitch with a half-inch seam allowance — but this time, leave a gap of about 3 to 4 inches in the center of the bottom seam. Do not stitch that section closed. This gap is what you’ll use to turn the entire bag right side out at the end.

Box the corners of the lining the same way you did for the outer bag, using the same 1.5-inch measurement from the corner tip.

Press the lining seams open and set the lining aside for now.

Step Four: Create the Drawstring Channels

This is where the drawstring mechanism comes together. The channel is typically created by folding and stitching the top of the bag at a specific measurement.

For this bag, the drawstring channel will be 1.25 inches tall, giving enough room for a standard cotton cord to move freely.

On the outer bag, which is still inside out, fold the top edge down by a quarter inch toward the wrong side and press. Then fold it down again by 1.25 inches and press again. This creates a clean, finished channel. Pin in place but do not stitch yet.

Do the same with the lining, but fold toward the right side of the lining fabric rather than the wrong side. This is because the lining will end up on the inside and you want the fold to go in the correct direction.

Step Five: Join the Outer Bag and the Lining

Now you’ll combine the outer bag and the lining. Turn the outer bag right side out so the good side of the fabric is facing outward. Leave the lining inside out.

Slide the outer bag down into the lining so that the right sides of both fabrics are facing each other and the raw top edges are aligned. The outer bag will sit inside the lining, which might feel counterintuitive, but this is exactly right.

Match up the side seams of the two bags and pin the top edges together carefully. Stitch around the entire top edge with a half-inch seam allowance. When you reach the channel folds you pressed earlier, stitch through them to keep everything aligned.

Step Six: Turn the Bag Right Side Out

Reach through the gap you left in the lining’s bottom seam and pull the outer bag through it. Work gently and pull steadily, easing the fabric through until the entire bag is right side out.

Give the bag a good press at the top, pushing the lining down inside the bag so it sits cleanly. The channel fold should be visible and neat all the way around the top.

Now close the gap in the lining. You can do this by hand with a slip stitch, or you can fold the raw edges in and topstitch across the gap on your machine. Either method works perfectly well. Tuck the lining back inside the bag.

Step Seven: Stitch the Drawstring Channel

Press the top of the bag thoroughly so the channel sits flat and even. Topstitch around the bag twice: once right at the folded edge of the channel at the top, and once 1.25 inches below that. These two lines of stitching form the channel that the drawstring will travel through.

Before you complete these lines of stitching, you need to decide where the openings for the drawstring will be. Most drawstring box bags have two openings, one on each side seam, so that a cord can enter and exit on both sides. This allows you to pull the bag closed by pulling both ends of the cord on the same side.

To create these openings, simply leave a small gap of about half an inch in your topstitching at both side seams. You can achieve this by stitching to the side seam, lifting your presser foot, moving the fabric forward past the seam by half an inch, and then continuing your stitching line. You’ll do this for both the top and the bottom stitching lines, and on both sides of the bag.

After stitching, use a seam ripper to carefully open the actual side seam within the channel area, between the two topstitching lines, if it wasn’t already open from the construction process. This creates the hole through which the cord will be threaded.

Step Eight: Thread the Drawstring

Cut two pieces of cord, each about 28 inches long. Attach a safety pin to one end of the first cord and use it to guide the cord through the channel, entering at one side seam opening, traveling all the way around the bag, and exiting through the same side seam opening. Both ends of this cord should emerge from the same side of the bag.

Take your second piece of cord and thread it through the other side seam opening in the same way. Both ends of the second cord will emerge from the opposite side of the bag.

Tie the ends of each cord together with a secure knot, or thread them through a cord lock. If you’d like, you can also thread both ends through a large bead before knotting for a decorative touch.

Finishing Touches and Customization Ideas

Your drawstring box bag is now complete. Before you call it finished, give the whole thing a final press with your iron. A well-pressed bag looks far more polished and professional than one that skips this step.

There are so many ways to customize this project and make it uniquely yours. You could add an exterior pocket by sewing a small rectangle onto the outside of the bag before joining the outer bag and lining. You could use a contrasting lining in a fun print that peeks out when the bag is open. Embroidery on the outer fabric, either done before or after construction, adds a lovely personal touch.

For a gift bag version, choose fabrics that suit the occasion — festive prints for the holidays, soft florals for a baby shower, bold geometrics for a birthday. Fill the bag with small gifts, tie the drawstring into a bow, and you have a presentation that’s far more memorable than tissue paper in a box.

If you’d like to make a larger version, scale everything up proportionally. A bag that’s 12 inches wide and 14 inches tall with a 4-inch boxed bottom works beautifully as a project bag for knitting or crochet. A tiny version measuring just 4 inches wide and 5 inches tall makes an adorable jewelry pouch or ring bearer bag for a wedding.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

If your drawstring is difficult to thread through the channel, try using a bodkin instead of a safety pin. A bodkin is a specialized tool designed for this exact purpose and makes the job much easier. You can also try threading a straw through the channel first and then sliding the cord through the straw.

If your boxed corners are uneven, measure again before stitching. It’s worth taking the time to mark the line clearly with a fabric marker or chalk before you sew. Uneven corners will make the bag lean to one side when it stands.

If the lining puckers or bunches inside the bag, the issue is usually that the lining pieces were cut slightly larger or smaller than the outer pieces. Try pressing the bag firmly and smoothing the lining down before pushing it into place. If the problem persists, you can always tack the lining to the outer bag at the side seams invisibly by hand.

Why This Project Is Worth Making

There’s something deeply satisfying about making a functional, structured bag from scratch. The first time you set your drawstring box bag upright and it stands on its own, holding its shape exactly the way a well-designed bag should, you’ll feel that particular kind of maker’s pride that keeps people coming back to sewing again and again.

These bags are quick enough to make in an afternoon but impressive enough to give as gifts or sell at craft fairs. Once you’ve made two or three, the process becomes almost automatic, and you’ll start seeing possibilities everywhere — in fabric scraps, in material you’ve been saving for the right project, in prints that would make a perfect pouch for a friend.

If you try this tutorial, take a photo of your finished bag and share it. Every bag made from this method will look a little different depending on the fabric, the cord, and the maker’s own choices along the way. That’s the best part of making things by hand.