2025 Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along

By now you probably know.... it's tradition! I'm talking about the Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along hosted by Jeni Baker @jenib320. I've been participating as long as it's been held - 2020 or 2021? - and making Jeni's bag pattern long before that. It all started when my daughter Rachel @snippetsofsweetness began making these reusable gift bags years ago, the family (and friends!) liked them and grew to expect them, so I joined in the effort and started making them too. After family Christmas, Rachel and I return all the bags to the appropriate maker, so we each have our own hand-made stash to start with the next year. For birthdays, though, we seem to assume the gift bag is part of the gift. Go figure!

At any rate, before joining Jeni's sew along this year, I got out my Christmas bag stash to see how many and what sizes I had. Nearly 40! And that probably would have been enough. BUT. There's always the random present that no bag will fit, or some new fabrics to add to the collection. There's a variety of reasons to need to make just a few more.

Since it's always hard to guess what sizes will be needed, I just started making. Happily, I found a few partially-constructed bags in my Christmas fabric stash, so that's where I started (above). Left to right, there's an Artist bag with mini accent, a two-fabric DVD bag, and a Snack-size with mini accent.

Then, wouldn't you know it, one of my friends who always loves my handmades, asked for a few bags in a variety of sizes as her gift this year. So for her, I made an Artist bag and a Project bag, both with a mini accent; and one of Jeni's new Scrappy Color Blocked Lined Drawstring Bags in the snack size.

Then there was another Snack size bag with a mini accents for another friend's gift.

AND I just really needed to make some new bags for Rachel in blue Christmas-y fabric. It's all Deco Frost by Giucy Giuce. I made a trio, all the Artist bag size, in a variety of the fabrics and bag designs - (right to left below) a mini accent, a traditional, and a two-fabric variation.

Another friend got an Artist bag using the Peek-A-Boo Lining variation....

And finally, I tried Jeni's Leftover Quilt Block bag, which is a new size - 12" wide x 16.5" tall - the same width, but just a few inches taller than The Project Bag. Actually, the block I used - from the Block Studies Collective Star Brite prompt - was just 11" square, but the tutorial is easily adaptable, which is great.

Well, I think I outdid myself this year! Twelve new bags in all. Honestly, it never gets old.