A while back, a family member was complaining about the waste of Christmas wrapping paper. It got me thinking of alternatives to the paper wrapped gift boxes we often use for the holidays. So I decided I would make something sustainable that could be used again and again. After a little brainstorming, I thought up these fabric gift pouches. They can be used over and over again. You can make them in any size and they don't take up much space. Hope you'll make a few to use year after year. Enjoy.
Supplies:Fabric - two 8 1/2" squares for outside print, two 8 1/2" squares for lining
Two 8 1/2" squares of batting
Ribbon
Sewing Needle
Thread
Velcro strip - about 4 -5 inches in length
Pin ribbon to the fabric square like the picture above. Machine sew down the sides of the ribbon to adhere it to the fabric. This will be the top of your gift pouch.
Place the print fabric up. Place the lining fabric on top so right sides are together. Last, place a batting square on top. Pin together and sew all three pieces together on one side of the square with a 1/4" seam. Make two of these.
After sewing the fabric, open it up so the print is on one side and the lining and batting is on the other side (refer to picture). Press open seams. Do this to the other one as well.
Place both sewn pieces right sides together. Sew a 1/2" seam around the edge (refer to red line). Make sure to leave an opening to turn right side out.
Turn right side out. It should now look like the picture above. Sew the small gap closed (refer to red line).
Tuck the lining into the printed fabric to form a lined bag. Your pouch should now look like this.
Pin velcro strips to the inside of the pouch. Refer to picture. Sew velcro onto the pouch.
Tie a bow with ribbon and sew it to the top of your gift pouch. Done.
* You can place gifts directly into the pouch or use a box first for fragile items such as jewelry.
I love this idea, but you have to admit, it is not near as much fun as actually getting to rip open a present!!!
ReplyDeletewow!!! this is such a great idea! :)
ReplyDeleteit looks so cute too!
I wouldn't want to give this away if my gifts were packaged like this :P
What a great idea! I think you still get the ripping feeling with the velcro :) Is is bad if I want to give eco-bags as the presents?
ReplyDeleteOh that is such an adorable idea! I really like the idea that the velcro replaces the ripping open of the presents, lovely :D I agree with Kristin though, I would want to give them as gifts!
ReplyDelete........yet another project added to my list ..thanks, jess! Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea. I have tried simpler versions such as just using one piece of fabric and making a bag to tie off, but this is much nicer.
ReplyDeleteOooo, I really like this idea. I think it might be hard to do for everything, because there are so many different sizes, but this is cool. I like it!
ReplyDeleteAnne
Oooh I love these! I hope I have enough time to make some before chrsitmas
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cool idea! I gathered some other eco wrapping ideas here:
ReplyDeletehttp://emmanemhandmade.blogspot.com/2009/11/wrapping-paper-rant.html
but yours is awesome! I'm definitely going to make some of these in the next month.
Immagine the travels of the puches around the world, gift by gift! enjoyable! just a great idea!
ReplyDeletei would love to receive something so creative like this! No waste really! you're so clever with your ideas =)
ReplyDeletegreat idea, thank you! love the tutorial
ReplyDeleteGenius!
ReplyDeleteLove this and I just bought that fabric too!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!! In addition to the eco-friendly aspect of this, for the bow-challenged among us there's also the added bonus of not having to fiddle with the ribbon trying to get a bow tied straight.
ReplyDeleteI posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-eco-friendly-gift-wrap-with-a-bow-of-top/2009/11/24/
--Anne
I love this idea! It's perfect for some gifts I made this year (small notebooks). Thanks for posting the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteI like this idea, it's really great for under 3 kids that have problems with wrapping paper.... but not so great for the ages of 5-99 who like to peek ;)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! I too have been trying to think of a reusable fabric idea but nothing felt pretty enough and here you are, you have done it for me! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! we always have a few bags of wrapping paper & tissue paper to throw out every Xmas. Thx!
ReplyDeletegreat idea!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! Any tips on making them a little more secure? We have peekers, serious peekers, over here... And they're all old enough to know better (ages 28-61)!
ReplyDeleteI love love this idea!! I was going to make drawstring bags but I like this way better! Thanks so much for the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteso cute! I'll be making some of these too!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic concept. I bet they will take on very quickly. Spot on!
ReplyDeleteAlexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex
Hope you patent these ASAP
ReplyDeleteThank you for let me share such a great eco idea in my blog! Hope you like it as well!
ReplyDeleteCitric sugar, Just an idea about peekers. Could you add a bit of hand stitching to the top that can be ripped at christmas? Leave the velcro so that they are still reusable but the hand stitch will keep it closed.
ReplyDeleteOH my gosh. These are wonderful. Not that I have time to make them but I surely want to!! Seems pretty easy too. Maybe I'll go for some Christmas fabric or remnants on sale after the holidays and make for next year??
ReplyDeleteHi - I just discovered your blog and am now delightedly browsing the archives. There is so much inspiration, it's really awesome! This idea I liked so much that it prompted me to comment, which I don't do much generally. So, thanks for the great inspiring ideas! Now I have to buy some Christmas-y fabric and get to work!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I've featured this tutorial in a christmas gifts tutorial roundup on my blog, The Handmade Experiment. Check it out at http://wp.me/pkcUM-oZ
ReplyDeleteThanks and happy holidays!
Emily
For peekers, maybe make the outer layer a little longer on one end like an envelope, and seal it with an additional knotted drawstring or some kind of pretty ribbon lacing through grommets. The velcro would still be inside to completely hide the contents.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI featured your tutorial in my blog :)
Merry xmas <3
Too cute!
ReplyDeleteMy idea parallels yours, but with a twist. I'm super eco and wanted desperately to cut out all paper usage during Christmas. I have a daughter that is going through the Hannah Montana phase, so I had all these Hannah clothes to wrap. She also had a lot of toys, too. I ended up having a themed Christmas for my little one by using her new Hannah clothes as wrapping on her toys, and using ribbon that I reuse every year anyways. This can be done for little boys as well. It was a really nice looking spread, I wish I could upload my pics!
ReplyDeleteThe idea is fantastic! I thought the ribbon can be remove but it's not. It's cute that it is attached in the cloth. Plus the design is beautiful. Thank you for sharing this crafty wrap. That's very creative! By the way, you might love to visit Happy Tiffin The site also offers stylish green items that you can reuse. This is good for travelling, office use, school use, etc.
ReplyDeletebrava!
ReplyDeleteThis is a good idea!
Barbara
http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/2009/11/craft-project-felt-christmas-ornament.html
I posted a tutorial on my blog of your Eco Christmas Gift Wrap with a few twists of my own. I linked back to your tutorial. Really great idea!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://urbanpioneerwoman.blogspot.com/2009/12/re-usable-giftwrap.html
I'm making this for my sister's birthday, with the intention of asking her to pass it along with whatever gifts she gives in the future. I think I'll add a tag on/in it with a name/date list so we can see the journey the bag takes through the family!
ReplyDeleteI made one this week to use to wrap a Christmas gift. I'll definitely be making some more. I love that the velcro ripping opens echos the ripping of paper when ripping a gift open.
ReplyDelete