Need a Present for that High School Graduate

It's graduation season! Life transitioning and new beginnings. How exciting. For all of those high school graduates finishing one chapter and preparing for the next, it's an exciting time. When ever people graduate from high school my mother makes this easy but useful project for all those heading off to college in the fall. It's a laundry bag. It's a very useful, personal gift that everyone who's ever gotten one from my mother has loved.

Here's how you do it:
You'll need 1 yard of heavy weight cotton fabric (this piece was perfect)
2 1/4 yard of Cotton Cording (I used 5/8")
A sewing machine with a good button hole stitch (I used the Quilt Expression 4.0)
A serger with a three thread overlock stitch (I used the Coverlock 3.0)

Optional an embroidery machine for the students monogram (I used the Creative Vision of course)

First sew across the top of what will be your bag with your serger to give the fabric a finished edge. All you have to do is fold the fabric right side together and sew with your serger across the bottom from fold to selvage and then up the side. Flip inside out and you'll have a bag.

Now fold down the top of your bag down inside about 1" and press. Flip this back out and mark where you will put your two buttonholes. You will make your button holes based on the size of your cotton cord. Stitch two buttonholes upright about 1" apart. Remember when you make buttonholes it's always good to use a stabilizer for beautiful buttonholes. Cut open your buttonholes. Then flip back down into the bag and straight stitch in place.

Once you've done this you will put a safety pin on one end of your cotton cord and feed it into one of your buttonholes and come out the other side, tie and you're done.

Now if you have an embroidery machine just use a tearaway stabilizer and make it more personal with an monogram. I made my monogram using the Monogram Wizard in the 5D software.

My mother would then get a laundry basket and put the bag, laundry soap, fabric softener sheets and a roll of quarters in it. Perfect useful, personal present!