Isn’t this the most adorable fabric…I still can’t get over how cute all those little hippos are…and the little bird sitting on top every so often, cuuuute!
Ok, so you’ll need two pieces of you upper (main) fabric measuring 10×5 inches and one piece of your bottom (secondary) fabric measuring 10×7 inches.
First thing you need to do is sew the two main fabric pieces to the secondary piece with right sides together. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance to do so. You can serge your seams for a more finished look if you like.
Once you have all fabric pieces sewn together, you can serge all four sides of the rectangle to clean up the edges if you’d like as well (see photo above). If you want the edges to look a little cleaner and do not have a serger then you will need to add about 1/2 inch to all pieces so that you can make a 1/4 double folded hem instead.
Next, fold over the short edges (wrong sides together) about 1/2 inch to make your casing. Sew in place.
Then fold the rectangle in half right sides together and sew down each long side, like in the picture above. Making sure to sew from the fold at the bottom ONLY to the very edge of the casing otherwise you will not be able to get your drawstring through! Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Next, take the bottom corners of the lunch bag, still right side out, and pinch off the corner to make a triangle. Sew a line 1 1/2 inches down the bottom of that triangle like the picture above. Clip the triangle. This will make your lunch bag have a flat bottom to stand up on.
Finally, take your 1/4″ wide double fold bias tape and sew the open fold together to make one unit. Pin one end with your safety pin and weave it into your casing at the top of your lunch bag. Pull it all the way down one side of the casing and back down the other. When you get to the end, make a knot so that the drawstring is connected and won’t get lost back into the casing. Do these same steps but start on the opposite side so that you have a fully functional drawstring.
And there you have it! One Bento Lunch Bag complete!
Do you see how that drawstring works? You have two sets of strings in there each knotted on opposite sides. Pretty cool, huh…magic!
Enjoy friends!
And thanks for stopping by today!
See Part One of the Bento Lunches Series here:
XOXO,
This is so cute, my little guy will love this!! Thanks for sharing!
Sure Jen! Anytime! I hope you get a chance to make one soon!
So cute, and so easy! thanks for sharing!
Thanks!! 🙂 Hope you have a great rest of the day!
What is the finished size of this bag? Thanks for the pattern and instuctions! Love your blog, you have such great ideas.
Adorable!!! Thank you so much!!!
WHERE did you get those adorable boxes though?!
I just made two of these for my granddaughter. One with Koi’s and one with sunflowers, the bottom a rust tie die. She loves them I used a dark brown base tape so that the strings wouldn’t look soiled easily. Thanks so much for sharing this pattern and instructions.
I am terrible at sewing because I hate the measuring and precision of it, however, I was determined to make this for my three year-old, who came with me to pick out the fabric and the drawstring.
It took me almost five hours (as well as a test bag done yesterday), but I did it and it looks amazing.
I have a tall, square bento box for her, so I had to do some calculating; good thing my husband’s a contractor and was able to help!
The sense of achievement it gave me is awesome!
Thanks for the great idea and the pictures (which saved my sanity) 🙂
Here’s a photo of my completed project: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153512725980867&l=1598796b79
Oh no, Leanne! I cannot get to the picture via the link you posted 🙁
I am sure it is beautiful though!!!
xo,
Maggie
That is so awesome to hear!! I am glad this tutorial could be helpful to you!!! Hooray for you!!!!
Love this pattern! Do you have any more detail on the step involving the bias tape? I just can’t figure out where it is supposed to go. Thanks!
I have two tutorials that can be found in the Tutorials section (under Sewing -> Basics) that will give you the info you may need all about sewing with Bias Tape!
From what I can tell the bias tape is the drawstring. I was confused for a minute too.