How to Make a Drawstring Dice Bag with Pockets

My husband and I like to play board games and with those games comes all sorts of little cards, dice, chips, and tokens to keep track of and store. I like really like the design of the flat bottom drawstring bag tutorial on Urban Threads (the store where I bought the dragon machine embroidery file) but I also like how my drawstring travel jewelry bag (it looks like this one)  is organized with pockets in the sides. (Disclosure: I am including some big bold affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

Looks like is is time to DIY my owner unique gamer bag of holding!

How to Sew a Flat Bottom Pouch with Pockets

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You will need:

1 Fat quarter of fabric for the outside of the bag

1 Fat quarter of fabric fro the inside lining of the bag – I like to buy my fat quarter fabric here. They have a great selection!

Interfacing

Coordinating thread

Scissors

Sewing gage

Straight pins

Tailor’s Pencil

Drawstring cord

Sewing machine I have this sewing machine that also embroiders!

Iron and ironing board


Step by Step How to Make it Tutorial:


1. Cut one rectangle each from the outside and lining fabric that is 8 inches high and 13 inches long.

2. Cut one rectangle from the lining fabric that is 11 inches high and 13 inches long. This will make the pocket.

3. Cut one rectangle from the interfacing that is 5 1/2 inches high and 13 inches long.

4. Cut one circle each from the outside and lining fabric that is 4 1/2 inches round. I traced a can of tomatoes to use as a circle pattern.

5. Decorate the fabric for the outside of your bag with machine or hand embroidery, iron on patches like these, with a Circuit machine (get more info here), etc. if desired.

6. Fold the pocket material in half right (the pretty part) side facing out and iron the fold into place.

7. Place and pin the interfacing inside the folded pocket fabric.

8. Use the sewing machine to sew the pocket layers together at the top of the folded bundle. Iron the sewn fabric into place.

9. Put the pocket on top of the right side of the lining fabric. Use the sewing gage and tailors pencil to mark and pin three vertical lines 4 1/2 inches apart on the outside of the pocket fabric to indicate where you will sew and make the pockets. Pin the pocket fabric to the lining fabric.

10. Use the sewing machine and coordinating thread and the horizontal lines you made in Step 9, each pocket chamber to the lining fabric.

Pockets!

11. Use the sewing machine and tailor’s pencil to mark where you want to sew two button holes for the drawstring on the outside pouch fabric 3 1/2 inches from  each side of the fabric and at least 2 inches (or lower if you like) from the top of the bag. Use the sewing machine and coordinating fabric to sew the buttonholes into the fabric. Don’t forget to carefully cut the buttonhole hope with the scissors!

Dragon! 

12. Pin the lining fabric together pockets facing in to make a tube and use the sewing machine to sew it into place. Use the iron and ironing board to press the seam open so it lays flat.

13. Pin the outside fabric together right side facing in to make a tube and use the sewing machine to sew it into place. Use the iron and ironing board to press the seam open so it lays flat.

14. Use the straight pins to pin the bottom circle of lining fabric right side up  to the bottom of the lining tube. The pockets side of the tube should still be facing in. Use the sewing machine to sew the bottom of the lining into place.

I know there are some bobbin boobles that I should have taken out and resewn 

cleanly but no one is going to see them in the finished project. In the interest of time, I left it as is.

15. Use the straight pins to pin the bottom circle of outside fabric right side up to the bottom of the outside pouch fabric tube. The design side of the tube should still be facing in. Use the sewing machine to sew the bottom of the pouch into place.

16. Use the scissors to notch or trim seam fabric of the lining and the pouch so the seams lay straight if needed.

17. Turn the outside of the pouch right side out.

18. Lining up the outside seams, put the pocketed liner inside the pouch. Use the sewing gage to fold 1/4 of the lining and pocket in on itself and pin the lining to the outside of the pouch.

I did this to make a clean edge on the  purple space fabric  pouch. I only measured and folded the lining fabric on the black pouch because I liked the look of the fringy selvage edge.

19. Use the sewing machine and coordinating thread to top stitch the pouch and lining fabric together.

20. Using the button holes you made in Step 11 as a guide, use the tailor’s pencil and sewing gage to draw two lines at the top of the button hole and the bottom of the button hole that you use will use as a guide to sew the drawstring channel all of the way around the pouch.

21. Following the lines you drew in Step 20, sew each side of the drawstring channel into place.

Almost done!

22. Cut two pieces of drawstring in the equal length of your choice.

23. Thread one of the drawstring cords into a button hole (a sewing bodkin like this makes the job easier,) through the drawstring channel all of the way out of the original buttonhole. Tie the ends of the drawstring together with a slip knot.

24. Repeat Step 24 using the second length of drawstring using the second button hole.

25. Fill it up and play on!

If you’d rather buy than DIY, check out the options – and more! – below!

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