How to Make a Gift Bag from Wrapping Paper

It might nearly be Christmas Eve, but it's not too late to make some pretty gift bags (and some biscuits to go in them!) for last minute gifts. I had around 25 sets of biscuits to give away this year and I decided to make my own gift bags, purely because to buy 25 would be so expensive. Here is a little "How To" make a gift bag from wrapping paper. This could be for any time of the year - just use paper to suit your occasion.

What You'll Need
Strong Wrapping Paper (mine was described as 'foiled' and it was pretty strong, although not expensive)
A Ruler
Scissors
Double Sided Tape (or some glue)
Thin Card
Hole Punch
Sewing Machine (again, you could use glue, or even a stapler instead of stitches)
String or ribbon

Method

Cut your wrapping paper into rectangles 21cm by 42cm

Fold your paper in half (to make a squareish shape) and sew a line of stitches half a centimetre from the edge down both the folded side and the opposite side where the two edges meet (It's kinda hard to see on my awful quality picture, but my stitching is along the top and bottom on the photo below).

Make a fold 3cm from each line of stitching, folding the paper both back and forward

Now for a slightly tricksy part - open the bag out, so it's like a ring and tuck the stitched lines in, using the folds you already have (these will form the sides of the bag). It's hard to explain in words - see the picture below!

Next, flatten the whole bag and make a fold 1cm up from the bottom edge. Sew this flap down along that line. Make a further fold 3cm up from that line of stitching, again, folding both back and forward. This will form the bottom of the bag.

This next step is most definitely the hardest bit (and where it's important your paper is strong!!). Open the bag up and push against the sides to flatten the bottom out. You will end up with two small triangles on the inside which are tucked in from the sides. You should simply be able to use the folds you already have in the paper and the seam along the bottom should line up with the seams down the side.

 


Right, that's the most difficult bit out of the way - the rest is plain sailing!!

Use some double sided sticky tape on some thin card to make two rectangles approximately 5cm x 2cm and  stick these to the insise of the bag, along the top two edges. Use your hole punch to make holes opposite each other in the card (the card is to strengthen the holes - if you are intending to use the bag for something really heavy, you could put a rectangle of card in the bottom too).

The final step is to use your string/ribbon to either tie some handles through the holes, or alternatively, use it to tie the bag shut.