Make a drawstring bag

1. Bond Lamifix to a 15cm x 60cm piece of red floral fabric. Cut this into two pieces, a 15cm x 48cm rectangle and a 12cm square. Lay a 15cm x 48cm piece of blue floral fabric over the Lamifixed rectangle, right sides together. Sew together along one long edge. Unfold and topstitch 2mm from the seam.

2. Fold the work in half in the other direction so the shorter edges meet, and sew down the side, starting 10cm from the top of the blue fabric and stitching to the bottom of the Lamifixed piece. Fold in the raw edges at the top of the seam and topstitch.

3. Fold over 5mm at the top of the cotton fabric and finger press. Fold this edge down by another 3.5cm and pin. Hem the folds with a double line of stitching, one 2mm from the first fold and the other 1.4cm from this to create a wide channel for threading ribbon.

4. Flatten the bag along the side seam and mark the other side of the bottom edge with a pin. Refold so the pin sits directly over the seam and mark the edges of the bag to divide it into quarters.

5. Take the 12cm square of fabric and pin to the base of the bag, lining up the corners with the pins. Pin and stitch two opposite sides before pinning the remaining sides. This will allow you to make small tucks in each corner if necessary for a perfect fit.

6. Turn the bag right side out. Feed a grosgrain ribbon through the channel in the top of the bag, attaching a safety pin to it if this helps. Tighten the ribbon to draw the bag closed and finish with a neat bow.

Sew a zip bag

1. Cut 25cm x 45cm of blue floral and lining fabric. Bond Lamifix to the floral material. Cut both pieces into two 22.5cm x 25cm rectangles.

2. Lay one piece of bonded fabric face up. Lay one side of a zip face down against a 25cm long edge of fabric. Place one piece of lining fabric over this with right sides together, and pin. Using a zipper foot on your sewing machine, sew along the edge, 5mm from the teeth of the zip. Fold the lining fabric around to the back of the outer fabric so the zip extends from the seam.

3. Stitch the remaining pieces of fabric to the other side of the zip in the same way and unfold. The edges of the zip should be completely enclosed within the outer and lining. Fold the entire work in half along the zip so the outer fabric pieces face each other and the lining is on the outside. Stitch together along the bottom edge of the bag. Add a second line of stitching 3mm in from the first to strengthen, then trim the raw edge with pinking shears to neaten.

4. Refold and flatten the bag so the zip sits directly over the bottom seam. Sew a double seam across each end of the bag. Stitch the opening end of the zip first, opening the zip a little before sewing across the other end. Finger press the folded edges of the bag.

5. Pinch a corner of the bag, bringing the side seam in to line up with the finger pressed crease. Measure 3cm down from the resulting point and stitch a double line across the seam to create height in the bag. Repeat for the other three corners and trim the excess points away with pinking shears. Turn the bag right sides out.

6. Take two 2cm x 6cm scraps of fabric. Fold in 5mm on each edge and lightly glue. Fold in half lengthways and glue to make two small tabs. Fix a tab to the bag at each end of the zip with a decorative button. Make a pull tab in the same way from a 2cm x 12cm scrap of fabric. Thread the fabric through the hole in the zip pull before gluing in half and adding a decorative button on each side.