Sew a Drawstring Bag for Game Pieces (or whatever)

Last week I posted a tutorial for how to make a small circular drawstring pouch for hair accessories or jewelry when you travel, or your quilting pins, or anything like that. This week I’m back with another drawstring bag tutorial, but this one was designed specifically to board hold game pieces: tokens, tiles, dice, or other components! It has a square bottom and is interfaced, helping it to stand upright on the table when you pass it between players.

Of course, you can use this little pouch for lots of other things! It would even make a great little gift bag that’s like a gift in a gift! The recipient can keep the bag to use for whatever they like.

This project was born when we got an expansion for our favorite board game that came with a bunch of tokens. The game is called Talisman and our family is very into it, haha! If your family enjoys the kind of board games that are super immersive and fun and take several hours to play, this is the game for you! It’s SO FUN. You can find the base game here, but the expansion I’m talking about is the dragon expansion, which is one of the best. There are several expansions, though, so you can just browse those for yourself.

Ahem, let’s move on.

I wanted to make a bag for my husband’s stocking to hold these dragon tokens. I wanted it to stand up straight because nothing is worse than a cheap-o bag that just falls over as you pass it around and lets all the pieces fall out.

I created a video tutorial for this little project, but you can also purchase a printable version of it in my shop, or on Etsy if you prefer. The PDF version is simply a more convenient way to refer to the instructions than having to watch the video a bunch of times! Both the video and the PDF are beginner friendly, as I strive to make all my tutorials.

This project doesn’t take much fabric at all! You can grab some scraps or a couple of fat quarters. You’ll also need interfacing and some cord or ribbon. The Star Wars print I used to make the version in the video is from JoAnn, but there are lots of great licensed prints to choose from online too. If you’re making this for a specific game or as a gift for someone, you can get creative and search for fabrics that go with the game or the person’s interests!

Here are a few great fabric options to get your wheels turning, but be sure and read my post about how to shop for fabric on Amazon to learn the tricks to finding what you’re looking for (there’s a secret!)

I’m so excited to give my husband his gift! I’m actually making four things for his Christmas stocking currently and they’re all tried and true things that he’s either asked me for, or that I’ve made him before and that he wants more of. I know it can be hard to think of things to sew for men as gifts, so next week I’ll post a blog post and video about the things I’m making my husband this year and hopefully that will give you some ideas!

Just for grins, since I’m sort of board game nerd and always have been I thought I’d post a quick list of our favorites! You still have time to shop for these before Christmas. I love getting a new board game or two for our family to learn during this season since we have a break in our routine to be home together and play games.

Here are our favorites! Our kids are all teens, so I would say if you have people 12 and older in your home, all these games are great for them, while some of them can be enjoyed by slightly younger kids too.

Tell me if you have favorite games! I’m all ears and I haven’t picked up a new one for this Christmas yet, so I’d love to hear what your family loves!

Cheers :)

Nikki