Tag: Gift Bags

I saw an article about Christmas coming up fast. That article and the gift bags I made for birthdays recently reminded me that it was time to encourage all of you to make gift bags! I updated the tutorial and am reposting it here.

I love using fabric gift bags for all types of gifts – birthdays, Christmas, graduations, weddings. Besides the fact that I intensely dislike wrapping gifts with paper, the fabric feels so much nicer in my hands. For Christmas, or other specialty holidays, I also get to sew with the new and beautiful fabrics each year with out committing to a holiday quilt.

Gift bags are a great way to use up scrap fabric that would otherwise hang around unused. If a fabric is no longer to your taste, it will make a great gift bag.

You don’t need super high quality fabric for gift bags either. If stored properly gift bags can be reused year after year.

Supplies:

• Basic Sewing Kit
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Fabric
• Ribbon

Supply Notes:

Fabric: the amount you need depends on the gift you are wrapping. If you are making some to have on hand, you can make one bag from a half yard or small bags from a fat quarter. Making gift bags is also a great way to use different fabrics such as upholstery fabric, velvet and other lush fabrics you wouldn’t normally use for quiltmaking.

Decorative stitches: This is a good way to get to know the resources required to use your decorative stitches. I made a lot of bags systematically using all the decorative stitches on my machine. This allowed me to know how much thread each one used and how long they took to stitch out.

Instructions:

Press a double hem on the edge of your fabric that will be the top. I often use the selvedge so I can skip this step.

Finish the hem with a decorative stitch. If you do not have decorative stitches on your machine, two straight stitches close together make a nice finish.

Once done, I fold the piece in half, wrong sides together, aligning the hem at the top. I put a piece of ribbon, folded in half. The end of the ribbon should be sticking out of the piece. Place the ribbon about a quarter of the way down the side.

Stitch down the side, starting with the hem using an 1/8 inch seam allowance. I reinforce the start backstitching over it a few times. I do the same for the ribbon and the end.

After sewing, trim any stray threads. Trim the corners.

Turn the bag wrong side out.

Stitch using a larger seam allowance. A quarter inch seam allowance may work, but you need to make sure you cover the entire previous seam allowance. Again, I reinforce the start backstitching over it a few times. I do the same for the ribbon and the end.

• • • N.B. Be very careful that the end of the ribbon is out of the way.

Turn your bag right side out and poke out the corners carefully.

Hooray! You have finished a gift bag!

 

Once again, I am posting a gift bag tutorial to encourage you to forego paper wrapping and wrap your gifts in reusable gift bags. As a reminder, if you do not celebrate Christmas or another gift giving winter holiday, you can still make gift bags for birthdays, graduations, weddings and for giving quilts to people. You can make them using the tutorial below. You can make them using your own tutorial. You can use the In Color Order drawstring bag pattern or you can buy reusable fabric gift bags.

Supplies:

• Fabric – I use either a half yard, a yard or a fat quarter. If you use a yard you can make 4 smallish bags, two medium bags or one large bag. You can make bags with any size piece of fabric and you can use the directions to make a specially sized bag for a special gift. Also, check out FabMo, if you are local, and get some super special fabric that makes up gorgeous gift bags.
• thread
• ribbon or cord or  use your imagination (braided yarn?)
• Sewing machine
• basic sewing kit

For this tutorial, we will use a fat quarter of fabric

1. If your fat quarter does not have a selvedge, create a hem using two folds so there are no raw edges. If your fat quarter has a selvedge, use the selvedge for the top. It won’t unravel. If you are using the selvedge and not making a hem, skip to step 4.

2. (If you need a hem) Press hem in place.

3. Sew hem with a decorative stitch, if you have it, a zigzag or straight stitch work fine as well.

Optional: If you have stitch letters on your sewing machine, stitch your name and the year so you know when you made the bag.

4. Fold hemmed bag in half WRONG SIDES TOGETHER so that half of the hem is underneath itself towards the top and the fold is on the left. You will be making a French seam.

5. Fold a piece of ribbon about 1.5 feet long in half. You can adjust the size of ribbon you use depending on how much ribbon you need to tie.

6. Place the folded ribbon in the open side of the bag about 4 inches from the top edge/hem.

7. Pin ribbon in place.

8. Pin rest of the right side and bottom closed. NOTE: If you are folding your fabric in half, you will be sewing two sides rather than the side and bottom. Basically, sew the sides or bottom closed depending on where your open edges are.

Use an 1/8 inch seam allowance or as small as you can.

9. Starting from the top, sew down the right side, backstitching at the beginning and over the ribbon 2-3 times. Backstitch at all stress points to keep the bag from ripping apart.

10. Turn at the corner and continue across the bottom, backstitching at the end.

11. Turn the bag inside out, so the right sides are together and the ribbon is out of the way of the seam (It will be inside the bag, but I put mine as straight as possible towards the opposite side of the bag).

12. Press seams, taking care to push them as far out as possible so there is no extra fabric near the seams.

NOTE: If you ribbon is synthetic or delicate, keep it out of the way of the iron.

Use a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch seam allowance.

13. You are now sewing on the wrong side. Starting at the top, sew down the side and across the bottom again to finish the seam.

The raw edges will now be hidden inside the seams.

14. Open bag to make sure the raw edge is hidden inside the seam.

15. Turn bag inside out and press.

Voila! Your bag is really to use!

Benefits:

• reusable
• good way to use fabric you might not use for quilts
  • Novelty fabrics
  • fabric you don’t love anymore
  • Use fabric you already own
  • orphan blocks
  • vintage sheets
• opportunity to buy holiday fabric without committing to making a holiday (or birthday) quilt
• quick way to wrap
• no need to rush out to buy gift wrap
• no tape or scissors needed
• small children can help wrap, or wrap their own gifts
• Fabric costs can be amortized over the years of the gift bag use
• bags are made quickly
• good opportunity to try out decorative stitches
• Can quickly make a gift bag for an oddly shaped gift. I once wrapped a weed whacker in a gift bag!
• Odd sized bags can be cut up later and used for different sized gifts
• I reuse ribbon I get from other places for the ties
• Easy to open and close the gift bag up again if the gift tag falls off
•  
• Embellishment possibilities are endless, if you want to take the time. Gift bags are a great way to try out different techniques, stitches, embroidery and embellishments

Drawbacks:

• takes time to develop a stockpile
• reusable gift bags have to be stored
• fabric costs are not insignificant
• You don’t get beautiful mounds of boxed gifts under your tree

Any gift bags you make will add to your stockpile. You can use leaders and enders to make them, which means that your regular sewing isn’t interrupted much .

Resources:

• Gift Bag tutorial
• In Color Order pattern (and some information from another post)
• Trim Tied Gift Bag Tutorial from A Quilter’s Table