Practical and stylish, this pretty laundry bag looks great in both the bathroom or bedroom, as well as providing a roomy and functional place to store worn clothes that are awaiting washing. The neat fabric loop means that it can be hung on the back of a door, while the drawstring close makes for easy, everyday use.
Take 1.5-cm/½-in. seam allowances throughout unless otherwise stated.
3 hours
1. Cut a 102 x 25-cm/40 x 10-in. rectangle of patterned fabric and two 102 x 20-cm/40 x 8-in. rectangles of spotty fabric. Lay the patterned piece right side up on your work surface, with one of the spotty pieces right side down on top, aligning along one long raw edge. Pin, tack and machine stitch together.
2. Pin, tack and machine stitch the other spotty piece along the other raw edge. Open out both seams and press.
3. Cut a 102 x 65-cm/40 x 25½-in. piece of interfacing. Lay the interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric panel, with the rough side down. Place a damp cloth on top and iron with a medium iron to fuse the interfacing to the fabric.
4. With right sides together, pin, tack and machine stitch the side edges together, leaving a 2-cm/¾-in. opening 9.5 cm/3¾ in. from the top edge.
5. Draw a circle 33.5 cm/13 in. in diameter on paper and cut out to make a template for the base of the bag. Pin the template to the spotty fabric, draw around it and cut out. Cut a piece of interfacing the same size and iron to the reverse of the spotty fabric, as before. With right sides together, pin, tack and machine stitch the base to the sides of the bag. Make small snips all the way around the seam allowance.
6. Cut a 102 x 48.5-cm/40 x 19-in. rectangle of fabric for the lining. Pin, tack and machine stitch along the short sides to form a tube. Press the seam open. Cut a circle of fabric and a circle of interfacing, as for the base of the bag, and iron together as before. Pin, tack and machine stitch the base onto the lining, again making small snips around the seam allowance.
7. With wrong sides together, place the lining inside the bag. Fold over and press 1.5 cm/½ in. and then another 5 cm/2 in. around the top of the bag. Machine stitch as close as possible to the edge, and then work another line of stitching 2 cm/¾ in. below that, to form a channel.
8. Cut a 140 x 5-cm/55 x 2-in. strip of fabric. Fold in half lengthways. Open out, fold in 1 cm/⅜ in. along each long side, and press. Fold the strip in half again and stitch along it to make the drawstring.
9. Thread the drawstring through the channel at the top of the bag and tie with a knot. Cut a 23 x 5-cm/9 x 2-in. piece of fabric. Fold in half, right sides together, and machine stitch along the two long edges. Turn right side out and turn the raw ends under by 1.5 cm/½ in. Stitch onto the bag to form a loop, stitching it onto the bag above and below the drawstring channel.
