How To Make A Fabric Gift Bag
How To Make A Fabric Gift Bag - For the past few years, I've been working on turning wrapping paper into reusable gift bags for Christmas and birthday gifts. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to make a fabric gift bag (both lined and unlined), without measuring! This is a simple sewing project, perfect for beginners.
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How To Make A Fabric Gift Bag
You don't test your wrapping paper before wrapping a gift, do you? So we make making DIY gift bags as easy as wrapping presents the traditional way. The good thing is that most of the bags you make are different, it takes a little planning, wrapping and making the bag you have to make next year.
You'll have an easy stash to hold gift bags of all shapes and sizes! Of course, you'll end up giving away some bags when you give gifts to people away from home, but I love the idea of reusing them too, and I'm unknowingly cutting down on wrapping paper too!
P.S. you'll find printable instructions and a video tutorial at the end of this post! Below you'll find all the basics and instructions you need to make handmade gift bags quickly and easily. The second method is self-explanatory and requires no further calculations; if that's what you need to do, go to the next step.
How To Make A Fabric Gift Bag
To find out what size you should cut your fabric for a particular gift, do this: Stretch a piece of holiday fabric or scraps of fabric, from a fat pad to a large piece or even a yard of fabric if your gift is too big.
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You can make these bags by folding a piece of fabric in half or using one piece for the front and back. So fold your fabric or place your "front" fabric and place your gift on top. Consider the depth of your gift. How many fingers (deep)?
Make sure there is enough fabric on both sides of your gift (when you are on top of the fabric) to not only give the 1/4 inch seam but also the depth of the gift. So if your gift is two fingers deep (say, a book), add two fingers wide to both sides of the book.
The rest is fine if you want to be safe. Also, consider the length of your gift compared to your fabric. You'll be adding a small box about a quarter of the way to the bag, for giving or receiving, so there should be some space above your gift before it starts.
Step 2: Topstitching The Top Of The Bag (Unlined Version Only)
When you're happy with the size, cut off any excess fabric or loose pieces at the top or bottom of the fabric (I'm not testing here, I'm just making sure the front and back of my folded fabric are the same size). start again For an unlined bag: Fold a piece of fabric and cut both sides or cut the "back" to match the size of your "front" panel.
For the lined gift bag: Cut 2 pieces of fabric. fold in the same way or cut 4 panels: two on the outside of the bag and 2 on the sides. I used a thin polycotton fabric for the front panels of the two lined pockets and the back panel and inner fabric were cut from my husband's old shirts.
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I like to use materials like old denim shirts and jeans for all kinds of projects, including fabric gift bags. DIY You can also use Christmas blocks as the outer fabric for your quilts, like these cute Christmas tree quilt blocks. Again, I didn't try - I just used the edge of my top panel as a piece for the other panels.
For Both: If you're using separate panels instead of folded fabric, sew the outside of the bag right sides together along the edges before moving on to the next step. (See below for sewing your fabric if using). If you're looking for an unlined bag, the next step is to hide the edges of the bag.
Step 2: Topstitching The Top Of The Bag (Unlined Version Only)
To do this, you want to fold the top edge over twice to hide the inside edge. Again, we're not trying, you can make it small or small; it's up to you (see images for a rough guide). You can watch it all in the video at the end of this post if you don't know what I mean here!
Click fold first and then fold and print again. The only thing you want to check is that the collar is the same width as the rest of the fabric. Then take it to the machine and put the top on the bottom line, but turn the fabric wrong side up and put the top right side back.
I do this from the back to make sure it catches the folded fabric in my veins. I use a height of 3.5. Note: If you plan your bag, skip this step! Next you need to find a long piece of fabric (or you can combine two if needed).
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Its length must be equal to the width of the bag. Note: Currently, the outside of the bag is not sewn on both sides. If you are using a folded fabric, it should be opened for this. If you cut the front and back, they should lay flat on your cutting mat as one piece.
Step 3: Making Your Drawstring Casing
The rest of the gel liner is great for this, but if you have a smaller or thicker liner, that's fine too! This fabric will stand out on the outside of the bag because it is a patterned piece; make sure it matches your main fabric.
Hide the edges on either side of the line (the short ends!) by folding twice and bringing them together along the fold (same method as step 2 above). Again, you don't need to measure, but it's probably safe to make these curves smaller than the ones in step 2 above.
Once you've done this, sew the rest of the row to the wrong side with a 1/4 seam along the edge. Back stitch on both sides. Once sewn, take your line to the ironing board or mat and pinch the line so that the seam is on the back and the "pretty" side is on the front.
Then click. You can press the seam open or to the side, it doesn't matter. Just hide it behind the casing. The process is the same whether you are making a lined or unlined bag. Place the seam allowance down at the top of the bag.
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