A robotic drawstring bag

For Christmas this year Mason got a LeapPad and I knew immediately that I'd need to make something to hold it. Small games that were going to get lost, scratch-able screen, USB cord to keep track of - yup, definitely needed to have something to contain it all to one place. Sure, they sell (ugly, expensive) cases for them, but this was the perfect reason to make one of the cute drawstring bags that I've been seeing all over the place in the sewing community.



Jeni's tutorial is great - just as I expected. Since doing the tutorial for the size I made, she's released a pattern with lots of different sizes. I definitely think I need to invest in that pattern now that I've made one of these little guys - they're quick and super easy to make!





I made a few modifications to her tutorial to make it work a little better for me. For one, I didn't box the corners as she instructed. When I had the corners boxed & had the LeapPad inside, the LeapPad just tipped the bag over. So I ripped out the boxed corners and like it much better (for my use) as just a flat bag.

I also lined the whole outer piece with fusible fleece. I knew that this bag was going to get a lot of use and wanted to make sure the LeapPad inside was somewhat cushioned. The fleece up at the top where the drawstring is made it a little hard to open/close at first, but it's gotten better after loosening up a little.

The other thing I did was add a little zip pocket to the outside! I love how it looks with the contrasting pocket - and it's the perfect size to hold all the tiny games that go to the LeapPad.






I made the pocket independently of the bag & then just top stitched it to the outside fabric before folding the fabric in half & stitching around the sides as Jeni has you do in the tutorial.

Even though I knew Mason would never care, I was a little crazy & even lined the pocket by fusing 2 pieces of fabric wrong-sides-together (to make a 2-sided piece of fabric, basically) because I didn't want to be able to see the wrong side of the fabric inside of the pocket.



I love how it turned out & more importantly so does Mason! Most of all he loves the robot fabric - how PERFECT is this fabric for an electronic item for a 5 year old boy? I was so lucky to have Mo as my partner in the Secret Santa Twitter swap - and she sent me some of her awesome brand new fabric in my package with the specific instructions to use it to make something for my boys.

It was so fun picking out which fabrics to use where - they're all so cute. I can definitely see a fun quilt made out of this line. Thanks again, Mo! The fabric is Mechanical Genius by Mo Bedell for Timeless Treasures.