Fern's Drawstring Kindy Bag

When Fern came home from kindy with a note saying that cot linen needed to be packed into a drawstring bag from there on in, I panicked. Where to find a bag big enough to fit a cot pillow, fitted sheet, normal sheet, blanket, and about 14 of Fern's 'essential' sleeping companions? Until then, I'd been stuffing it all into her backpack along with her lunch, spare clothes and nappies, so it was no wonder staff were putting their foot down about a special bag for linen they could easily pull out at naptime.

I scoured the linen cupboard for a solution.

One white pillowcase, a bit of leftover ribbon, and some scraps of fabric later... I came up with this:

Fern's very own personalised drawstring bag! AND it fits all her stuff! It's almost criminally easy if you want to make one yourself, folks!

You just need:
- A pillowcase
- Some ribbon or cord
- Scraps of material, buttons or ribbons for decorative effect!

1. To make the drawstring at the top, I simply folded the top edge of the open end of the pillow case in about an inch and ironed it flat. Then, fold it in about another inch and a half and sew, leaving an opening to thread the cord or ribbon. Using a safety pin, thread the cord through, then tie a knot in the end, securing the ribbon inside the pillow slip.

2. And in one simple step.... you already have your drawstring bag! Now, the fun part. You can decorate any way you fancy; in my example I simply drew Fern's name on scraps of fabric freehand and cut them out with zig zag scissors. You could also print the letters out from Photoshop or similar, and pin to material and cut out that way, if the prospect of drawing freaks you out.

3. Iron some adhesive onto the back of the letters and iron on to the slip, then sew around the edges using a straight or zig zag stitch. Contrasting thread colours could be fun... you could also applique little animal cutouts or shapes, or stitch some buttons onto the fabric to make it even more groovy. I had no time for such frivolity!

4. Ta-da! Super simple, and one kindy bag that will stand out from the rest!

























x