Bottle Bag Pattern Maker
Bottles come in many diameters, so a bottle bag is best made to fit. Type the bottle’s diameter and height, choose how much of it the bag covers, and the round base and side band are drawn to suit.
Close it with a drawstring, a flap or a zip, carry it by a hand loop or a shoulder strap, and add a padded or insulated layer if you want one.
Make it yours: Measure your own bottle, then adjust the ease, the padding and the strap length.
Make this pattern in your size →What you can change
Size
- Bottle diameter: 3–20 cm (1⅛–7⅞″). Across the widest part of the bottle.
- Bottle height: 10–45 cm (3⅞–17¾″). From the base to the top, cap on.
Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Bottle diameter 6.5 cm (2½″), Bottle height 20.5 cm (8⅛″).
Options
- Top: drawstring, flap or zip
- Carried by: hand loop, shoulder strap or neither
- Layer: none, padded or insulated
- Drawstring: one cord or two cords
- Fastener: magnetic snap, sew-on snap, button or hook-and-loop
- Switches: Zip tabs, Lined, Interfacing
- Measurements and counts: Ease, Height covered (%), Loop length, Loop width, Longest strap length, Strap width, Cord thickness, Flap depth, Button size, Zip tape width, Sew the zip on at
Starting points
These are sizes and settings to begin from, and every one stays fully editable. Type your own measurements, or start from the nearest one.
| Starting point | Finished size, cm | Same starting point in round inches |
|---|---|---|
| Water bottle bag · 500 ml | for a 6.5 cm × 20.5 cm bottle · 8.3 cm across × 21.9 cm high | for a 2½″ × 8″ bottle · ≈3¼″ across × ≈8½″ high |
| Insulated bottle sling · 750 ml | for a 7.5 cm × 25.5 cm bottle · 9.5 cm across × 27 cm high | for a 3″ × 10″ bottle · ≈3¾″ across × ≈10⅝″ high |
| Large bottle bag · 1 L | for a 8.5 cm × 27.5 cm bottle · 10.5 × 29 × 10.5 cm | for a 3⅜″ × 11″ bottle · ≈4⅛ × ≈11⅝ × ≈4⅛″ |
| Bottle gift bag · 750 ml | for a 8 cm × 31 cm bottle · 9 cm across × 28.9 cm high | for a 3⅛″ × 12″ bottle · 3½″ across × ≈11⅛″ high |
Cutting list
At the starting size (Bottle diameter 6.5 cm (2½″), Bottle height 20.5 cm (8⅛″)) the pattern has these pieces. Fabric sizes include seam allowance, interfacing is cut to the stitching line, and pieces cut on the fold are shown opened out. Each size is the width and height of the piece as cut.
| Piece | Fabric | Cut | Size to cut | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side band | Main fabric | 1 | 28.08 × 23.9 cm (≈11 × ≈9⅜″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Side band | Lining | 1 | 28.08 × 23.9 cm (≈11 × ≈9⅜″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Side band | padding (fleece, batting or foam) | 1 | 26.08 × 21.9 cm (≈10¼ × 8⅝″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Round base | Main fabric | 1 | up to 10.3 × 10.3 cm (up to ≈4 × ≈4″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Round base | Lining | 1 | up to 10.3 × 10.3 cm (up to ≈4 × ≈4″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Round base | padding (fleece, batting or foam) | 1 | up to 8.3 × 8.3 cm (up to ≈3¼ × ≈3¼″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Handle | Main fabric | 2 | 8 × 31 cm (≈3⅛ × ≈12¼″) | Strip: cut by measurement |
You will also need: Cord; Safety pin or bodkin; Handles (alternative); Padding; Thread. The cover page and materials list give the amounts for your size.
The maker’s fabric estimate at this size: Main fabric about 0.3 m of 112 cm fabric; Lining about 0.3 m of 112 cm fabric.
How it goes together
These are the maker’s own instructions at the starting size. They change with the options you pick, and the PDF carries the full set with the cover, cutting list and materials list.
- Check before you cut: the inside will be 7.5 cm across and 21.5 cm deep. That is the bottle (6.5 cm across, 20.5 cm tall) plus 1 cm ease; the stitched size is bigger by 0.4 cm for the padding. A bottle with a wider base or a cap that sticks out needs more ease.
- Attach the padding to the wrong side of every outer piece: fuse it if it is fusible, otherwise baste it within the seam allowance. It is cut to the stitching line so the seams stay thin. Use a longer stitch from here on.
- Make the handles: press the strip in half lengthwise, open it, fold both long raw edges in to meet at the crease, then fold in half again so it is 2 cm wide. Edgestitch along both long sides. Make both the same length.
- Outer: put the band right sides together with itself and sew the side seam at 1 cm. On the right-hand side seam, leave the part between the top edge and the casing notch unsewn, backstitching at the notch: that is the cord gap. Press the seam open.
- Outer base: pin the base to the bottom of the band, right sides together, the base’s top mark at the band’s seam and its other marks at the band’s quarter marks. Sew round at 1 cm, snipping the band’s allowance every 1.5 cm so it eases round the curve.
- Lining: sew it the same way, with no cord gap, but leave the turning gap between the side seam notches open.
- Lining base: pin the base to the bottom of the band, right sides together, the base’s top mark at the band’s seam and its other marks at the band’s quarter marks. Sew round at 1 cm, snipping the band’s allowance every 1.5 cm so it eases round the curve.
- Turn the outer right side out. Baste the handle ends to the outer’s top edge between the notches, raw ends level with the edge and the handles hanging down against the bag, untwisted.
- Slip the outer inside the lining, right sides together, with the handles sandwiched between. Match the side seams and sew round the top at 1 cm.
- Turn the bag right side out through the gap in the lining, edgestitch the gap closed and push the lining down inside. Press the top edge.
- Stitch the casing through both layers: one line all the way round on the casing line, 1.5 cm below the top, level with the bottom of the cord gap, and a second close to the top edge.
- Thread the cord with a safety pin: in through the gap, all the way round the casing, and out through the same gap. Knot the two ends together.
Fabric suggestions
Outer: Quilting cotton, linen, calico, light canvas, nylon or ripstop.
Lining: Quilting cotton, or anything light and smooth.
Interfacing, padding or other layers: None needed. A drawstring bag should stay soft so it gathers. Padded: fusible fleece for a light layer, batting for a soft one, closed-cell foam for a firm one.
How each fabric family suits it
- Stable woven: great choice. The classic choice: gathers neatly.
- Heavy or stiff: possible, with care. Thick fabric doesn’t gather well and makes a bulky casing. Fine for a sturdy, larger bag with a thick cord.
- Stretchy knit: works well. Works, and knits don’t fray. Keep the casing generous and stitch gently.
- Slippery or fine: great choice. Light and packable, ideal for shoe and stuff sacks. Finish raw edges, as these fray.
The maker’s advice adjusts to the fabric family you pick in the Fabric tab.
Printing it
At the starting size the printed pieces take 3 A4 pages, taped together using the page labels, alignment marks and page map. For a print shop, choose a sheet from A0 to a 36″ roll: the pieces are packed onto as few sheets as they will fit on, and if one is too big for the sheet the maker says so. How printing, tiling and the test square work.
Frequently asked questions
What size can I make?
The bottle bag pattern takes bottle diameter from 3–20 cm (1⅛–7⅞″); bottle height from 10–45 cm (3⅞–17¾″). It starts at Bottle diameter 6.5 cm (2½″), Bottle height 20.5 cm (8⅛″), and you can work in centimetres, millimetres or inches. There are 4 starting points to begin from (Water bottle bag · 500 ml, Insulated bottle sling · 750 ml, Large bottle bag · 1 L, Bottle gift bag · 750 ml). Every starting point stays fully editable.
Which fabric suits the bottle bag pattern?
Quilting cotton, linen, calico, light canvas, nylon or ripstop. In the maker’s fabric advice, stable woven and slippery or fine are a great choice; stretchy knit works well; heavy or stiff is possible with care.