Twelve Days of Handmade Christmas - Day Nine: Fabric Bags for Gift Wrapping

By
Number nine  in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive.

So, how are you wrapping gifts this year?

Paper gift wrapping can be an expensive and wasteful exercise, but the idea is nice: concealing the presents as a surprise and making them look pretty, too. So how about re-useable fabric bags that can be enjoyed year after year? These are so very simple to sew up, it's probably even easier than cutting paper, swearing at the sticky tape and so on!



Fabric Bags for Gift Wrapping

Make them in a range of dimensions to fit gifts of all shapes and sizes!

Here we have used half of a 40cm cut of linen (this heavyweight olive green is a huge 180cm wide). So this piece is 40 x 90cm.
You'll also need 2 pieces of twill tape or ribbon, 1 metre each.



Make a narrow double-fold hem at the short ends.

Fold in half, right sides together, and stitch down the long sides. Finish the seams (we've used a triple zigzag).
 In the middle of one hemmed edge, attach two 1 metre lengths of twill tape or ribbon.
 Turn your bag in the right way. It's ready to wrap!
 Place your gift inside and use the ties to wrap in opposite directions around and finish in a bow.

Of course there are many variations on fabric bags - you could make drawstrings or sew the twill tape into the seams near the top so they scrunch up the top.

And that's a wrap! Ehehhh....

(Special thanks for this gift wrapping idea to lovely customer Sara and credit also to this blog post at Soule Mama where we found this basic bag idea.)

Previous Twelve Days of Handmade Christmas posts:
No Sew Felt Pencil Roll



- Fiona & Jane xx


Comments

Post a Comment

We love to know who's reading and what you think so please leave us a comment! We'll also try to answer any questions you may have.

Popular posts from this blog

Pattern Review: In The Folds Jumpsuit (free pattern for Peppermint Magazine)

By
Image
Did someone say jumpsuit? Free pattern? By fantastic Australian designer In The Folds ? I was onto it like a shot! Pattern promo pic: I certainly hope Emily of In The Folds is paid quite well by Peppermint Magazine for the patterns she designs for them, because she's a thorough professional. This is a great pattern, a really well-constructed blank slate for individual interpretation or just a really clean, simple silhouette. So thanks Peppermint Magazine , for making this available to sewists everywhere (and for encouraging sewing in general)! And thanks Emily for the fab designs (more online here ). I made a muslin, which we always recommend and is particularly wise for a fabric-hungry pattern like this. You really don't want to use your 'good' fabric until you're sure of what you're doing. Muslin legs not full length because that was not necessary to check fit The pattern states that it's designed for a height of 5'7" which is a good f
Read more

Care of your Boiled Wool

By
Image
We have some lovely 100% boiled wools at The Drapery for this first time this year. The care of these fabrics was a bit of a mystery to us as well as to you, so we've done some investigation. Will my boiled wool shrink if I wash it at home? More than likely, yes. That surprised us, too. One would guess since the fabric is called 'boiled wool' and has a felted, non-fray texture, that it is pre-shrunk and would not shrink further. Not so - please be well aware! Here's what we found: We tried three kinds of gentle washing: - Front loading machine wash 'wool cycle', 30 degrees , with wool wash liquid, rinse, spin. - Gentle hand wash, warm , with wool wash liquid, rinse, press dry in a towel. - Front loading machine wash 'wool cycle' cold , with wool wash liquid, rinse, spin. In both warm washes (machine and hand) the wool experienced 10 - 15% shrinkage in length. There was little to no shrinkage in width. The cold wash showed sligh
Read more

Boiled Wool Shrug - free tutorial

By
Image
We have some luscious boiled wools in stock at The Drapery right now, and have put together a free tutorial for possibly the easiest garment you'll ever make! Searching for boiled wool inspiration, we came across this simple and lovely shrug by Manda of Treefall Design, who was inspired by a ready-to-wear piece. We whipped up a couple of prototypes in the shop and arrived at this which takes just a 75cm cut of fabric and three straight seams. Edges can all be left raw because boiled wool does not fray! REQUIREMENTS 75cm x boiled wool , ours is 150cm wide - would also work in wool knit fabric such as this Japanese wool blend (or this one ) and this Merino Rib Gutermann Sew-All thread in matching colour Cut about 50 - 55cm in from each selvedge so you have 2 pieces approx. 50 x 75cm, each with a 75cm fluffy selvedge. The piece from the middle is spare so you can use it for another project, or perhaps to embellish your shrug. Pin your pieces together along th
Read more