DIY: Turn a tote bag into a drawstring bag

I'm going away for the weekend tomorrow (WOO) and while I was packing I had a moment of genius! I could turn the little cotton bag was taking as a laundry bag into a drawstring laundry bag!  This was sooo simple and took me about 20 mins, it just depends how quick you are with an unpicker.

So here you are:

You will need:
Scissors
Needle and thread
Ribbon (length needs to be at least double the width of your bag  (e.g. my bag was 37cm wide and the ribbon was about 1m long))
An Unpicker
Cotton tote/carrier bag

 


1+2 Use an unpicker to unpick the handles from the bag. This will make the turnover at the top of the bag into the channel for the drawstring (3). Use a needle and thread to sew up any gaps where the stitching could come undone (like the gap in picture 2).





4+5 Once you have removed all handles, use an unpicker to open up the side-seam.





6. Put the safety pin on the end of the ribbon. 7. Thread the safety pin through the hole you made in the seam. 8. Keep threading it through until it you are back to the start. Then you just need to sew the two ends of the ribbon together to make sure the ribbon doesn't come out!

What you use the bag for is up to you! I am going to put shoes in it on the way to my holiday (so as to protect my clean clothes) and then to put dirty clothes in on the way back. 


Let me know if my instructions make any sense!