Holy cow it’s almost Christmas! These little cuties are the first thing I’ve sewn in months. But the minute I saw this Drawstring Gift Tote in the Wholecloth newsletter at the beginning of this month, I knew I needed the pattern.
I hadn’t come up with gift ideas for my kids’ teachers yet, and I thought that this pattern would be perfect with some little cards and homemade treats. So, I bought the pattern and got to work!
First, I had to find Christmas fabric, so I found this really cute fabric at a store near me and was able to make the entire bag with it. Kristi has instructions for how to make the straps and drawstrings with just fabric so that you don’t have to worry about having other supplies on hand.
The pattern comes with long handle lengths to be more like a tote, but the instructions also tell you how to do the short straps. I really like the fabric handles, but next time I will try to find some matching twill tape for the drawstrings because MAN, they’re so long, and you have to iron them to be 1/4″ thin and then sew them. It just became a little bit tedious when sewing three bags. So, it’s totally doable, but not enjoyable. Haha.
She also tells you how to box the bottom if you have something box shaped that you’re putting in the bag. That is what I opted for because I was putting little tin containers of treats in mine, and without boxing the corners, they would kind of stick out funny.
I made three of the small size because one of my kids has two teachers. Since I haven’t sewn a while, I was kind of slow and impatient, so I just serged the raw edges of the side seams instead of doing French seams. I would love to do the French seam option another time, but I wanted to make sure I actually finished without burning out too much.
The instructions were great, so I didn’t need a tutorial, but Kristi did post a sew-along video, and it looks very helpful for those who need it. I know there are loads of tutorials online for how to make a simple little drawstring bag, but since I’m still a little bit of a beginner at bag making, it’s just so much easier for me to have a pattern to follow.
I added little tags to the bottom of the pocket that say, “you are loved”. I wrote a little note to the teachers and had the kids make their own. I didn’t have any actual cards, but our folded-up printer paper fit in the pocket perfectly. They turned out so cute, and I think the teachers loved them.
If you’re curious about the treats that I made, they are pictured below. I’ve really liked making date balls lately, so I tried making them a little fancier, with the chocolate and pistachios on top. These are a mixture of pistachios, cashews, dates, Nutella, and salt. They’re very yummy and my blood sugar is much less affected by them, so I make them pretty frequently. They’re also really good rolled in coconut flakes.
Since I’m not in any of these photos, here is my sign of life – a photo of Dallas and I last Friday after we got lunch and went for a little walk before Christmas break started for the kids. I think this is a funny representation of Lisbon weather – sunny…but just wait an hour and the storm clouds will roll in (behind us. Haha).
I hope you’re having a nice Christmas week and spending time with friends and family. We don’t have any visitors or trips planned this Christmas, but we’re going to find an indoor pool nearby for the kids, and I have a lot of books on my library app that I’m looking forward to reading. I’ve been reading more than I usually do lately and I really enjoy it. I don’t have any urgent sewing planned, but we’ll see if inspiration strikes.
If you need a beautiful way to wrap your presents or a cute new tote, you have a day or two left to whip one of these up before Christmas! If you’re not in a huge rush to sew one, you can subscribe to the Wholecloth newsletter and there may be a really good discount for this pattern sent after Christmas.
Happy holidays and happy sewing! See you in 2026. xoxo
