If you have ever tipped a board game box upside down looking for that one missing token, you already understand why custom board game storage bags are such a brilliant idea. Knowing how to create custom board game storage bags means you can organise every game in your collection by piece type, colour, or player set, and do it with fabric that actually looks good on the shelf. These bags are fast to sew, use up small fabric cuts beautifully, and make genuinely thoughtful handmade gifts for anyone who loves tabletop games.
What you need before you start
The good news is that board game storage bags require very little in the way of materials. Most can be made from offcuts and small fabric panels, which makes them an ideal project for using up remnants from larger makes. Here is a basic materials list to get you started:
- Outer fabric: a medium-weight cotton woven or canvas works well for structure. Digitally printed fabric is a great choice if you want to personalise each bag by game theme or player colour.
- Lining fabric: a lighter cotton or cotton-poly blend keeps the inside smooth and easy to reach into.
- Drawstring cord or ribbon: 3 to 5 mm cord is ideal. Cotton cord, satin ribbon, and waxed cord all work.
- Safety pin or bodkin: for threading the cord through the casing.
- Sewing machine, scissors, iron, and fabric marker.
When it comes to choosing your outer fabric, the print really does make the difference. A bold, custom-printed panel turns a simple drawstring bag into something special. For advice on which materials will keep your prints sharp and vibrant wash after wash, the guide on which fabrics hold vibrant digital prints best is worth reading before you order your fabric.
Sizing your bags for different game components
Board games contain a huge variety of pieces, from tiny resource tokens to oversized player boards, so it pays to make a few different sizes rather than one bag that tries to do everything. Here are three sizes that cover most games well:
- Small (10 cm x 12 cm finished): Perfect for dice, tokens, coins, and small cardboard chits.
- Medium (15 cm x 20 cm finished): Great for card decks, miniatures, and player-specific resource sets.
- Large (20 cm x 28 cm finished): Suited to player boards, larger meeples, game boards folded into sections, and rulebooks.
Cut your outer fabric and lining fabric pieces to your chosen finished size, adding 1 cm seam allowance on each side and an extra 4 cm at the top for the drawstring casing. So for a medium bag, your cut panels would be 17 cm wide by 28 cm tall.
Step-by-step: sewing a basic drawstring board game bag
This method works for all three sizes. Once you have made one, the rest go very quickly.
- Press and prepare your fabric. Iron your outer and lining panels so they lie flat. This makes sewing more accurate and the finished bag neater.
- Sew the outer bag. Place your two outer fabric panels right sides together. Sew down each side and along the bottom using a 1 cm seam allowance. Leave the top open. Trim corners diagonally to reduce bulk, then press seams open.
- Sew the lining. Repeat the process for your lining fabric panels, but this time leave a 6 cm gap in the bottom seam. This gap lets you turn the bag right side out later.
- Attach the outer and lining. Turn the outer bag right side out. Slip it inside the lining (right sides together) so the top raw edges align. Pin around the top edge and sew all the way around with a 1 cm seam allowance.
- Turn and close. Pull the outer bag through the gap in the lining. Tuck the lining inside the outer bag and press the top edge flat. Slip stitch or machine stitch the gap in the lining closed.
- Create the drawstring casing. Topstitch around the bag 3 cm from the top edge, and again 1.5 cm from the top edge, forming a channel. Leave a small opening in one side seam between these two stitching lines if you did not plan one in earlier.
- Thread the cord. Attach a safety pin to one end of your cord and feed it through the casing. Knot the ends together or tie a bow stopper to finish.
Personalising with custom printed fabric
This is where the project really comes alive. Instead of plain cotton, you can use a digitally printed fabric panel designed around the game you are organising. Think resource-themed prints for a euro game, a dungeon-map motif for a fantasy adventure game, or colour-coded player prints so each person can grab their own bag at the start of the game. Small fabric cuts go a long way here, so ordering a panel with multiple designs tiled across it keeps costs down while giving you plenty of variety.
If you are new to ordering printed fabric and are not sure which base fabric to choose for a project like this, the article on popular custom fabric bases explained for beginners covers the most common options in plain language and is a useful starting point.
Tips for a professional finish
A few small details separate a polished bag from a rushed one. Press every seam as you go rather than leaving it to the end. Use a matching thread colour on the outside of the bag and a neutral thread in the bobbin for the lining. If your outer fabric is a woven canvas or a heavier cotton, interface just the top few centimetres of the casing to keep the drawstring channel crisp and easy to use. Finished bags also benefit from a light final press once the cord is threaded.
If you plan to make a set of these bags as a gift or to sell at a market or online, consistency matters. Cut all your panels in one session using a rotary cutter and quilting ruler to keep sizes accurate. For more ideas on projects that translate well into a side income, the list of most profitable sewing projects to sell online includes storage and organisational makes that buyers genuinely seek out.
Storage bag variations worth trying
Once you are comfortable with the basic drawstring bag, there are a few variations that are worth adding to your repertoire:
- Zippered pouches: Replace the drawstring casing with a zip for bags that need to stay securely closed during transport.
- Labelled bags: Print the bag front with the game name or component type for instant identification without opening the bag.
- Gusseted bags: Add a flat base gusset so the bag stands upright in the game box. Particularly useful for large meeple or miniature collections.
- Matching sets: Sew all the bags for a single game from the same printed panel so they clearly belong together inside the box.
Board game storage bags are one of those projects that start simple and quickly grow into a satisfying ongoing hobby. Once word gets out that you make them, you will find yourself getting requests from every gamer you know.