Shoe bags are perfect for travel, keeping dirty shoes away from your clean clothes. DIY shoe bag is a simple sewing project, making a drawstring bag the size to fit your shoes.
You can make the shoe bag out of any fabric – cottons, silks and even velvet for a fancy bag! If you are making them for a gift, think about novelty cotton prints that feature a hobby or interest of the recipient.
How to Make a Shoe Bag
Make your own shoe bags - perfect for travel or protecting a good pair of shoes when stored in your closet! Your next trip put your glass slippers in a pretty drawstring shoe bag, instead of a plastic grocery bag!
Have fun with the fabrics, picking ones that make you happy!
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Materials
- One (1) piece of fabric 30-inches x 15-inches for the main bag
- Two (2) pieces of fabric 2-1/2 inches x 15-inches
- Two (2) pieces of cording, drawstring or ribbon each 36-inches long
- Thread
Tools
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Pressing surface
- Rotary cutter, mat and quilter's ruler OR scissors and measuring tape
- Safety pin
Instructions
- Begin by cutting out your fabric. Here are my pieces ready to make a shoe bag.
- Start by folding the larger piece of fabric in half, right sides together, making it a 15-inch by 15-inch square.
Sew both side seams, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. If you have a serger, it is easy to sew and finish the seams with one pass. If not, sew the seams and then finish them with a zigzag stitch. If you have sewn with your sewing machine, press your seams open. If you used a serger, press the bag.
Next, take the two smaller strips of fabric and fold the right side in on the short side 1/4-inch. Topstitch this in place.
- Press the smaller pieces in half lengthwise and press. These are our casings for the drawstring. Line up the raw edge of each of the casings with the top raw edge of the bag, on both sides. One will be for each side of the bag, and they should not meet at the sides, there should be a little gap for the drawstrings. Pin in place.
- Here is a close up of the casing pinned on the bag.
- Sew 1/2-inch seam all around the top of the bag, securing the casings. Remove the pins as you sew.
- Sew right over the gap at the seam line between the casings.
- Press the casings up and the seam down into bag. Topstitch on the bag side of the seam all around the bag.
- Now it is time to put your drawstring in the bag. I'm using some pretty heaving cording and needed to knot the ends of the cord so that it didn't unravel.
- You can make your own flat cording, cording, ribbon or even heavy cording like I have.
Pin a safety pin at one end of one of your ties. This will make it easier to thread the drawstring through the casing.
- Begin threading the drawstring through the casing, working the safety pin through. Slow and easy. When you get to the end of the first casing, turn and go through the next casing. Make sure not to pull your other end through. Sometimes I like to pin it at the end. We'll need the other end to tie it off.
- Here it is all tied off.
- Take the other drawstring and start from the other side of the bag. Thread it through both casings. Tie it off. Now you have a finished shoe bag!
- Enjoy your finished DIY shoe bag!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
OHOCO Wool Pressing Mat for Quilting - 17" x 24" Extra Large Felt Ironing Pad 1/2" Thick, 100% New Zealand Wool for Ironing, Sewing, Cutting on Ironing Board, Tabletop, Dryer, Countertop -
Panasonic 360º Freestyle Advanced Ceramic Cordless Iron, Pest Repeller v.57, Teal -
OLFA 24" x 36" Double-Sided, Self-Healing Rotary Mat -
Omnigrid Non-Slip quilter's Ruler, 6" x 24", Neon Green -
45mm Rotary Cutter
What is the point of a shoe bag?
Shoe bags help keep your shoes away from your clothes in a suitcase. I love to use them for my walking shoes when traveling. They always seems to get dirty with mud between the grooves in the bottom. With shoes packed in a bag, that dirt doesn’t get all over my clothes.
They aren’t just a travel shoe bag, they also can protect shoes you don’t wear very often in your closet from dust and scratches. Go ahead, make some new shoe bags!
What size should a shoe bag be?
DIY shoe bag can be any size. Here we have started with a piece of fabric that is 15-inches wide by 30-inches high. This makes a finished shoe bag about 15-inches by 15-inches, and fits most women’s shoe sizes. For men with larger feet, I’d increase the height by about 4 inches or so, this is the length measurement of the cut main fabric. The best way is to measure the length of the shoe PLUS the height at the heel, double that measurement PLUS 2-inches. The drawstring casing would be the same size.
Tips and Ideas for making your own shoe bag
- Use contrasting fabrics for the binding strips for a fun sewing project!
- Finish the inside and outside seams with a French seam for a more finished look. Or pick any of these seam finishes to finish the inside of the bag.
- Larger shoe size? Just make the bag pieces bigger!
- Use cotton fabrics so that the shoe bags are breathable and washable.
- These make great gifts – even for Father’s Day! Pick fabrics and patterns that are perfect for the recipient!
- Use two fat quarters for the main fabric bag. Sew them together on the short edges with right sides together and put the seam at the bottom of the bag.
This bag is included in our Easy Bags to Sew article. See another way to make a drawstring bag. Browse through more sewing projects on Create Whimsy.
