GIFT BAG

I needed to wrap a gift and I was sure that I had an extra Christmas gift bag left over from last year.  Each bag I checked was either too small or way too large.

It is pouring rain and a real mess outside, so I decided not to go shopping.  I started looking for some fabric scraps to make my own version of a Christmas gift bag.

I found this cute Christmas fabric with holly and red berries for the bag.  Then I went to my solids drawers and found some solid red fabric for the lining.

I cut two pieces of each fabric.  In my sample I cut 14 inch squares.  You could change the size of this to fit whatever you want to wrap.

The first step was to sew the outside squares of the bag together and also sew the two squares of  lining of the bag together.  Sew around three sides.  I used a quarter inch seam but shortened my stitch length a little bit.  Leaving the top of the bags open will allow you to nest them later.  Also, it is important to leave a small opening at the bottom of the lining.

 

 

This little ruler is one of the handiest tools I own.  It is made by Perkins Dry Goods and is designed to help you get a true quarter inch seam.  I use it for many other things too.

 

In this project I am using it to draw a one inch square in all the corners. 

 

 

This will help me form the gusset to get the shape of my bag.

 

By forming a triangle with the corner you now have a line to stitch on.

Now I have two bags with corner gussets sewn in.

The next step is where you put the lining of the bag inside the outside bag right sides together.  I inserted the handle between the lining and the outside making sure that it was well out of the way of the stitching line.

I sewed a quarter inch seam across the top of the bag all the way around.
Now it is time to turn the bag right side out.  This is where that section at the bottom of the lining that was left open comes in handy.

Pull the outside bag through the opening and smooth it out making sure that the lining corners nestle into the corners of the outside bag.

Use a very narrow seam to sew the opening in the lining bottom closed.

Two rows of top stitching will finish off the bag.

I did not use any batting or interfacing because this is a gift bag.  If you want a sturdier bag you could have used batting or fusible interfacing.

My gift bag is finished and already filled with a special gift for someone.

                                           -sandi