It's a wrap: gift bags

This is an idea I got from my sister Ann: using cloth remnants to make gift bags. I sew as a hobby, so I do have remnants, but you could also have fun perusing the remnants table at your favorite fabric store. (My fave is Stone Mountain & Daughter.)

You'll also need ribbon or cord for the draw strings. I tend to save up the ribbons from other packages and even floral displays throughout the year. (They may need ironing to restore their utility.) Here's a box I packed this week for shipping.

Gift bags have all kinds of advantages over paper wrapping:

• Ease of wrapping. Kids love wrapping packages with gift bags!
• When the holiday or birthday is over, you have almost no clean-up.
• This is pre-cycling: You are re-using ribbon and fabric and adding zero paper to landfill.
• And, lastly, the look of cloth-wrapped packages is charming.

 The steps are simple. (Read them through before you start.)

1. If the item you want to wrap needs to be boxed, box it. 
2. Consider its size and then cut a piece of fabric double that size, allowing a 1/2 inch seam allowance on 3 sides. At this time also, cut two pieces of ribbon or cord about 5 inches long for the ties. (Select something that goes with the color of your fabric.)
   
3. Finish the side you want to be the top with pinking shears. If you don't have pinking shears, then you should allow a 1/2 seam allowance on that side too.*
4. Fold the fabric in half with the patterned ("good") sides facing inside. You now have one side with a fold and two sides that require a seam. The top should be finished with a zigzag (from the pinking shears).
5. Pin one of the sides. On the other side about 1 inch down from the top, secure the ribbon on the inside between the two pieces of the fabric. Pin the second side of the fabric, anchoring the area where the ribbon is well.
6. Sew together the two sides, back stitching where the ribbon is located. 
7. Clip the bottom two corners at a diagonal to reduce bulk. Turn the bag inside out.

*If you do not have pinking shears, before Step 4, turn down the edges of the two ends and finish the tops with a simple edge.