How to Sew a Violin Drawstring Bag

Calling all violinists! Need some cozy and customizable storage for your instrument? Follow along with Spoonflower Ambassador Mathew Boudreaux, aka Mx Domestic, to learn how to sew a Satin violin bag to hold your fiddles and more. Create an orchestra of these fun and easy drawstring bags in different shapes and sizes, not just for musical instruments, but other practical uses like accessory storage or special gift packaging.

Mathew: My spouse is a classical violist and needed a new satin bag to store their viola in. I had never known this, but they store the instrument inside a satin bag before putting it into their case! For those that have instruments, you probably already know this. However, I didn’t, and I had clearly been missing out on sewing my spouse these bags for the past two decades that we have been together.

This is the tutorial moment you all never knew that you needed. One, so you know about these bags and can make them for your musically-gifted people, but also because this is a basic drawstring bag method that you can adjust for your own needs. Everyone can include more drawstring storage in their lives.

Cut two 14” x 30” (35.5 cm x 76 cm) rectangles. This size worked for me, but if you’re making a bag for a much larger instrument you may want to pre-measure beforehand.

On one of the longer sides of the rectangle, place a mark 2.5” (6.3 cm) down from each top corner. Starting at each bottom corner, place a mark 2.5” (6.3 cm) toward the center. Draw lines from one top and one bottom dot on each side and trim.

Use a thread spool to round and trim the corners along the shortest length. This will be the bottom of the bag, with the opposite end being the top of the bag with the drawstring later on.  Complete this same cutting/trimming process with the second rectangle.

Pin or clip the two pieces of fabric right sides together. Using a 1/2” (1 cm) seam allowance, sew down one side, along the bottom and up the second side, stopping 2.5” (6.3 cm) from the top. Following the same order, zig-zag stitch to secure the edges. Trim any loose threads when complete.

A second option for making sure both sides match is to lay the cut piece on top of the non-cut piece and sew them together, trimming after.

Fold the edges of the side slit and the raw top edge in by 1/4” (1/2 cm). Press, making sure your iron is on a low temperature setting for polyester fabrics like satin. From the 1/4” (1/2 cm) fold, fold and press again the top 1.25” (3.2 cm). With the wrong side of the fabric facing up, edge stitch along the fold line.

Thread your cord or yarn through the cord pocket we just made, using a bodkin or a safety pin secured at the end to pull. Leave a couple of inches slack with the bag fully open, tie the two ends together and trim off the excess.

Voila, we have made ourselves a bag fit for a viola. Or a violin, or laundry. Really, the bag is yours now to frolic freely where folks do with such bags. Keep it positive y’all!