How to Personalise A Draw String Bag

A personalised draw string bag is great for kids at school and for after school clubs. In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to personalise a draw string bag step by step by adding heat transfer vinyl.

For this craft you are going to need the following items:  

Supplies I need to personalise a draw string bag: Laptop, cricut maker, heat press and mat, Draw string bag, standard grip cutting mat, brayer, ruler, scissors, weeding tool and white heat transfer vinyl

Draw String Bag

Heat Transfer Vinyl

Cricut Maker

Cricut Easy Press

Easy press Mat

Standard Grip Mat

Scissors

Weeding Tool Set

Brayer

Design or Image

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.

Getting Started

Get started by chosing the bag that you want to use and deciding on the name and design that you want on the front. 

Open design space and open up a new project. Clicked on the text sign at the side of the screen and this will open up a text box. Type in the name that you require.

Design space canvas showing the name Felicity

Selecting the Font

Design space canvas showing the name Felicity with the cursor on the font box

As default the font will be a cricut sans. If you wish you can change the font. To do this click on the box and it will take you to all the fonts that are available from cricut. If you have bought or downloaded fonts from the likes of font bundles and you wish to use these then click on system and this will then list all the fonts that are on your computer.

The fonts screen showing font options. The cursor is on the system option as thats where I select my fonts from

The font I used was Alesand Round which I had previously purchased from Font Bundles, but you can use any text of your choice.

The font screen showing the font box with the font alesand round typed in

To change the size of the text head up to the size box and type in the width you want the name to be. If the padlock is locked then the height will be changed in proportion.

The canvas showing the name Felicity with the font changed to Alesand Round

I changed the width of my name to be 8" and so design space changed the height to be 1.494".

The canvas showing the name Felicity with the font changed to Alesand Round and showing the name resized to be 8'' wide

Selecting the Design

The upload screen showing a picture of a ballerina in the recent uploads. The image box is highlighted

For the design I used a picture of a gymnast that I had already purchased from Design Bundles. Download the design to your computer and select the design you want. Once the design is in recent uploads, click on the design and a green box will appear around the design. Next click on add to canvas in the bottom left corner.

The upload screen showing the highlighted box and the cursor on the add to canvas button

Sizing

The canvas screen showing the name felicity and the image of the uploaded ballerina

Next we need to look at the sizing for the name and the design. I like the name for these bags to be 8’’ long as that fits nicely on the front of the bag. For the design I feel that 6” high was a good size. Play about with the size of the name and design and make them any size you wish. 

The canvas screen showing the name felicity and the image of the uploaded ballerina placed side by side

Once you have your name and design sized as you want them it’s time to think about cutting the design.  I like to try and save as much space as possible as this also saves vinyl. I like to spin my name around so its upright and fits at the side of my shape. This allows me to use as little vinyl as possible. 

The ballerina and the name Felicity on the canvas with the cursor on the select all option

Attach the name and the design together by clicking select all so that Cricut will cut them the way you have decided. A box will appear around the design when they have been selected.

The name and the ballerina both selected with a box around them

Use the attach icon in the bottom right to attach them together. This will keep them both together when they are sent to the cricut ready to be cut.

The cursor on the attach button ready to attach the name and the ballerina together

Cutting the name and design

The design attached together and the cursor on the make it button

Check that the correct machine you are using is selected and click on 'make it' in the top right corner. This will take you to the next screen which will show your design on the mat.

The design space mat screen showing how the name and the design will be cut out

As we are using Heat transfer vinyl you will need to mirror the image. You do this by pressing on the mirror button under where it says Mirror.

The design space screen showing the design and the mirror option selected

Once mirror is selected the button will turn green. Your design will also flip over on the mat. Press continue.

The design reversed on the mat

Design space will now start to connect to your cricut cutting machine. Next select the material you wish to use.

Design space screen showing the option to select the materials. premium vinyl is selected

For this project I selected premium vinyl as this cut’s my vinyl really well and I also changed my pressure to more to get the best cut possible.

Screen showing premium vinyl option has been set and changing the pressure to be more

Place the heat transfer vinyl on the mat with the shiny side down in the top left corner. Your design will be cut from this side.

Load your mat into your machine by clicking on the flashing arrow button. The cricut button will then start to flash. Press the flashing cricut button and the machine will start the cutting process.

HTV Vinyl on standard grip mat being loaded into cricut maker

Once the machine has finished cutting the arrow button will start flashing again. To eject the mat just press the flashing button.

To remove the vinyl from the mat the best way to do this to avoid the vinyl curling up is to turn the mat over. Peel the mat away from the vinyl carefully as you don’t want to crack your mat!

Vinyl being removed from the standard grip mat

Weeding time

Next you need to weed out your design. Take your weeding tool and start to peel away all the excess vinyl just leaving the name and design. 

Adding the design

For the final stage we now need to heat press the design onto the front of the bag. I used my cricut easy press for this. I heated the heat press up to a temperature of 160 degrees centigrade. Prepare the bag by heat pressing it for 10 seconds to remove any moisture that may be in the bag.

Draw string bag being heat pressed

Next line up your design. I have found the placement of the name looks best 10 cms from the bottom of the bag. This also allows plenty of room for the design to be placed on top. This will allow the bag to still look good when it is full of stuff and the bag is closed.

Name placed on the draw string bag and being measured to make sure it is central
Name and ballerina placed on the draw string bag and being measured to make sure they are both central

When you are happy with the placement of the name and design, apply the heat press and apply pressure onto the bag for 30 seconds. To cover all the design, you may need to move the heat press around and repeat the process again.

The name and the design on the draw string bag ready to be heat pressed

Carefully start to remove the protective sheet from the vinyl. I like to do this slowly starting in the corner. If the vinyl is lifting up then just pop the protective sheet back down and press the design again and that should do the trick.

The carrier sheet being removed from the designs after being heat pressed

Once the design if fully adhered then your bag is all complete and ready to use.

To watch how I made my bag head just click on the video below.

If you enjoyed this blog you might want to take a look at how I made a Personalised Tote bag.

See you soon

Lisa x

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