PRINTS CHARMING

Use luxurious fabrics for this drawstring bag – great for holding all those bathing bits and bobs!

TO MAKE

❶ Turn under two adjacent sides of the smaller patchwork square by 0.5cm and press flat.

❷ Stitch to one of the two pieces of patchwork fabric, right sides together, placing an unturned edge of the square against the long top edge of the wider piece. Turn under and press the remaining raw top edge of the long piece.

❸ Stitch the joined patchwork pieces right side out on to one of the main bag pieces, lining up the bottom and

side edges and sewing 1cm in from the edge. Top stitch the inside edges. Stitch the other long piece of fabric to the other main bag piece in the same way.

❹ Pin the two main bag pieces right sides together and machine stitch, taking a 2cm seam allowance along the bottom edge and 52cm up each side. Leave a gap of 4cm

(for drawstring channel), then machine stitch the rest of the seam. Press seams open and turn the bag to the right side.

❺ Fold the lining in half with right sides together to make a rectangle 60cm x 48cm. Taking a 2cm seam allowance, stitch the side seams. Press seams open.

❻ With right sides together, slip the bag liner over the patchwork outer bag and carefully align the side and bottom seams. Pin the two layers together around the top edge. Beginning at one side seam, sew the two bags together around the top edge, leaving a 15cm gap for turning.

❼ Turn the bag right side out through the gap so that the lining is on the inside. Press the top seam, rolling it between finger and thumb as you do so to prevent the lining from showing on the right side. Slipstitch the gap closed.

❽ To make the channel for the ribbon, sew all around the bag, beginning at the top of the side seam opening. Sew a second row of stitching all around the bag, beginning at the base of the opening.

❾ Attach a safety pin to one end of a 1m length of ribbon. Starting at the left-hand side of the bag, thread the ribbon through the channel until it emerges on the left-hand side again. Repeat with the second metre of ribbon, this time starting and finishing on the right-hand side of the bag. Adjust the ribbon so that the same amount protrudes from the end of each channel, then tie the ends on each side together in a double knot.