Why Small Offcuts Are Worth Keeping

If you dye with plants, you will accumulate a basket of remnants. A strip of linen left from a shirt, a square of cotton too small for a cushion, the good middle of a worn bedsheet that has taken an indigo dip beautifully. These pieces are rarely big enough for garments, but they are exactly the right size for drawstring project bags — the sort you use to hold skeins, spools, drying bundles, or the small tools of a mordant pot.

A simple bag takes an evening by hand. It uses perhaps a quarter of a metre of cloth, a metre of cord and a length of strong thread. Made well, with seams finished so they do not fray, it will outlast the project it was made for.

Choosing a Fabric That Will Wear Well

Not every remnant suits a bag. Aim for a close-weave fabric with a bit of body: medium-weight linen, cotton drill, hemp, or a sturdy cotton-linen blend. Loose-weave muslin and cheesecloth will fray at the casing almost immediately unless you line or bind them.

If your fabric is naturally dyed, wash it before you cut. Plant dyes shift and bleed, particularly madder, logwood and anything touched with iron. A warm wash with a pH-neutral soap, followed by a cool rinse until the water runs clear, settles the colour and pre-shrinks the cloth. Iron while slightly damp and you will have a flat, predictable piece to work with.

Check for weaknesses too. Hold the fabric up to a window. Thin patches, old stitch holes and faded fold lines will only get worse at a seam.

Cutting and Marking Your Pieces

For a small bag that holds a 50g skein comfortably, cut two rectangles roughly 22cm wide by 26cm tall. Add a 1.5cm seam allowance on all sides. If you prefer a squarer shape, use two 24cm squares.

Cut the casing strip from the top edge. You can either fold the top of the bag down to form it, or cut a separate band about 6cm deep and 24cm wide.

Mark your seam lines with tailor's chalk or a simple running thread in a contrast colour. On naturally dyed cloth, avoid marking pens — they can leave residues that lift colour later. Snip the selvedges off before cutting, as selvedge weave is tighter and puckers the seam.

Sewing the Body with Seams That Last

Place the two panels right sides together. Sew down both sides and across the bottom using backstitch, about two to three stitches per centimetre. Backstitch is slower than running stitch but far stronger, and it will not pull open under the weight of a full bag.

Then finish the raw edges. A French seam is the neatest option for a small bag: trim the seam allowance to 5mm, fold the bag wrong sides together along each seam, and stitch again 7mm from the fold so the raw edges are enclosed. Press as you go. If you prefer a flat fell seam, press both allowances to one side and whip the folded edge down with small, even stitches.

Clip the corners of the bottom seam before turning, but not too close to the stitching — a 2mm snip, angled, stops the corners bulging.

Adding the Casing and Threading the Cord

Press the top edge under by 1cm, then fold it down again by 2.5cm to make the casing. Pin and sew close to the lower folded edge with a running stitch, keeping the line straight and the stitches small. Leave a 3mm gap unstitched at each side seam for the cord to pass through, or work a small buttonhole if you prefer a firmer opening.

For the cord, use cotton cord, twisted linen or a hand-plied string roughly 60–70cm long. Thread it through with a blunt needle or a safety pin, going in one side and out the other so both ends emerge at the same point. Knot the ends together with an overhand knot and whip the last centimetre to stop it unravelling.

If you want the bag to close evenly, thread two cords in opposite directions and knot each pair separately — one pulls from the left, one from the right.

Finishing Touches and Studio Habits

• Whip or blanket-stitch any exposed raw edge inside the bag, especially at the casing gap.
• Add a small tag or a few embroidery stitches to mark size or contents.
• Wash by hand in cool water and dry flat, away from direct sun, to protect the dye.
• Store empty bags flattened, not crumpled, so the casing keeps its shape.

Make a batch. Once you have measured one bag, the second takes half the time, and remnants that were cluttering your shelves become a tidy, useful set — ready for skeins, seeds, dried petals or the small tools of your dye pot. Slow sewing rewards repetition: each bag sits a little truer than the last, and the offcuts you once set aside become the things you reach for first.