Festive Fabric Gift Bag Add a personal touch (and fa-la-la festive embroidery) to your holiday gift wrap this year with a homemade fabric gift bag. Bright patterned fabric and a hand-picked embroidery design will let you customize each bag for its recipient. Change the fabric and embroidery to fit birthdays or other special occasions, too! Project Needs & Notes (for a medium bag) - 1 yard print quilter's cotton for outside and inside of bag - 1/3 yard felt for applique fabric pieces - 1 1/2 yards double-sided fusible interfacing (I used Pellon brand, medium-weight) - Medium-weight (2.5-3 ounce) cutaway stabilizer - Air-erase pen for marking - 1 1/2 yards of 1/2" - 5/8" wide ribbon for handles Designs used in this project include L4152, Merry Christmas to All and L4156, And to all a Good Night. Find even more festive designs in the Christmas category here. Finished Sizes: Large bag: 12" wide x 15 3/4" high x 9 5/8" deep Medium bag: 10" wide x 13" high x 8" deep Small bag: 7 1/2" wide x 9 3/4" high x 6" deep The project instructions below demonstrate how to make a medium bag. Size variations for large and small bags are: Large bag: Outside and inside quilter's cotton pieces: Cut four pieces total, 24 1/4" x 21 3/4". Ribbon handles: Cut two lengths, 34" long. Space the ends of the ribbon handles about 7 1/4" apart. Small bag: Outside and inside quilter's cotton pieces: Cut four pieces total, 15" x 13 1/2". Ribbon handles: Cut two lengths, 21" long. Space the ends of the ribbon handles about 4 1/2" apart.
Begin by embroidering the design onto felt for the applique piece. Cut a piece of felt a bit larger than your hoop. Hoop the felt with a piece of cutaway stabilizer. Embroider the design. After the design has finished, use an air-erase pen to mark 1" out from the outer edges of the design. Draw lines connecting the marks, forming a rectangle. Cut out the shape. There is no need to cut the stabilizer away from the back of the fabric. Cut four pieces of print quilter's cotton to 20" x 18". Take one of the pieces and lay it flat with the right side facing up. Place the embroidered felt piece on top, right side facing up, centered horizontally. Leave about 2 1/2" of space in between the top edge of the felt piece and the top edge of the quilter's cotton. Pin in place.
Zigzag stitch around the entire outer edge of the felt piece. To prepare the inner fabric pieces, lay two of the print fabric pieces on top of the fusible interfacing, right sides facing up. Cut around the shapes of the print fabric. Press with an iron to adhere the interfacing to the fabric (refer to the interfacing packaging for instructions). Lay the outer fabric piece (the piece with the applique) flat with the right side facing up. Align one of the print fabric pieces (with the fusible interfacing added) on top, right sides together. Pin in place along the top edge. Sew a 1/2" seam along the top edge only. Fold the fabric along the seam. Align the pieces together, wrong sides together and press the seam with an iron. Press the front of the fabric (using a pressing cloth over the felt) to activate the fusible interfacing. To add the ribbon handle, cut a piece of ribbon to 28" long. Tie knots on each end of the ribbon and then pin the ribbon in place along the backside of the fabric along the top edge. Leave about 6" in-between each end, as well as equal distances in-between
the ribbon and the upper corners of the fabric. Top-stitch a 1/4" seam along the top edge of the fabric. Sew back and forth over the ribbon to secure it in place. Now one side of the bag is complete. Create the other side of the bag just as you did for the first, including the handle. I added an embroidered felt piece to this side also. Align the two sides together, right sides together. Pin in place, and sew a 1/2" seam along the side and bottom edges. Zigzag stitch or serge along the raw edges of the seam allowance to help prevent the fabric from fraying. To create the bottom of the bag, align the side seams with the bottom seam and pin in place. Measure 8" across the bottom of the bag by holding a straight edge perpendicular to the seam. Mark the fabric and then sew a seam across the line you just drew. Do this on both sides of the bag. Trim off the corners leaving about 1/2" excess. Turn the bag right side out. To finish, press the fabric up from each bottom corner to square off the bag.
Not only is this fabric gift bag a way to add a sweet sentiment to your gift wrap, but it's reusable, too! After the recipient has opened their present, they can use it as a tote bag, as a way to corral holiday decorations or crafting supplies, or to wrap one of their own gifts next year. Questions or comments? Let us know! Send an email to us; the address is stitch@emblibrary.com.