IN THE last of our summer craft series Camille Condon, who appeared a few weeks ago with a tea-towel bag, offers a different take on the same concept with a drawstring bag.

"Whether you're heading off for an overseas trip, or just a weekend away, making a drawstring bag for your shoes is a great way to keep them separated from your lovely clean clothes in your suitcase," Camille says.

"Of course, drawstring bags have a multitude of uses - so make as many as you like.

"They're fabulous for kids' toys, keeping puzzles together and storing precious collections."

Materials required:

  • A pretty tea towel
  • Twill tape and drawstring cord
  • Pins
  • Scissors
  • Large safety pin
  • Sewing machine

Method:

1. Fold the tea towel in half lengthways, with the right sides facing each other. Pin the sides together.

2. Using your sewing machine, stitch a straight line down both side seams. The top remains open. You will now have what looks like a large inside-out tea-towel pocket.

3. Turn the tea towel back out so it is facing the right way.

4. Each tea towel will be slightly different, so now you will need to use some maths.

Measure the width of the tea-towel envelope and then double it (this is to calculate the length of twill tape that you will need to use).

Cut the twill tape to the necessary length. Fold over the edge of the twill tape on either end and run a couple of lines of stitching along to ensure you have a neat edge.

5. Pin the twill tape right around the top edge of the tea-towel envelope and stitch along the top and the bottom to make a channel for your drawstring.

6. Using your previous twill tape measurement, add on 30cm and then cut a piece of drawstring cord to this length.

Attach one end of the drawstring cord to a safety pin and thread it through the drawstring channel.

7. Once the drawstring is even on both sides, tie a knot in either end to prevent fraying.

To prevent the drawstring from being removed, run a line of stitching down the side seam at the opposite side to the drawstring opening.