Live Life Anchored - 1 (DIY) Beach Bag Backpack or Knapsack

I have taken photos a few times of this project as I have been working on it for about a month but taking the time to do a video and upload it with my slow internet has made it difficult. 
 
Watch the video and hopefully you can understand my instructions as I made up the pattern for this. 

We made 25 of these bags for about $5. I tell in the video how we stripped "pillow edging" for the cotton handles and we just braided three of them together for the draw string. 
 
I had pictures of this at one point but because I am uploading a video, I can't check all the cards to find them but it is in the video so check that out. The fabric was donated but you could use donated or clearance fabric that matches your theme.

Basically, you start with a rectangle. Decide how large you want the main bag to be and use double that size on the fabric to cover the front and back. 
 
Cut 1 piece of the main fabric and 1 piece of an alternating fabric or liner fabric. You could use a sheet for the liner as the flat sheet is usually less than buying that same amount of fabric by the yard. I would check out the clearance fabric isle as well. I found a bolt of liner for $1.50 at a second hand store so the inside was VERY cheap as I was able to do 25 bags with one bolt of fabric. 
 
Once you have the rectangle cut. Sew the two sides and the long bottom of the fabric with RIGHT or PRINTED sides together. Once you have sewn the sides and bottom together, turn the rectangle inside out so that the printed side is showing. 
 
Now, fold the rectangle in half so you have a smaller rectangle making it look like a back pack at this point but make sure you fold it RIGHT OR PRINTED side together! 
 
BEFORE you sew it, make sure you put your handle inside the folded section and only leave the tail ends out and pin it securly as you need to sew that area with a zig-zag to secure the bottoms of the handles at the BASE of the longer seam! 
 
If you braided your handles as we did, make sure you take out the knots at the end before or after you sew it so that there aren't bumps at the base of the bag. 
 
Sew the bottom of the bag and up the longer side but leave about a two inch section unsewn at the top of the longer edge so you can make a casing for the draw string! Stitch over the base of the long side several times to catch the handles and give it strength so it won't rip with use. 
 
Last step is to make a casing for the top draw string. Fold the ragged edge down about 1/4 inch and then over again so that the ragged edge is not seen. Pin the string inside the casing as you make it so it becomes the "draw-string" for your bag.
 
Zig-zag the casing seam but make sure you don't catch the draw string in the stitching or you won't be able to draw it closed. It should look like the picture when finished. 

I have a lovely stack of 25 bags. I am happy to be done with that project and have many more I need to get done. I want to add that you can add an extra pocked on the outside or inside after you have it put together. I didn't want to make that effort as we are using them for a specific project but it would be easy to do with contrasting fabric. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It is a "Do it Yourself" project but that doesn't mean you can't ask for some help.