Fabric Gift Card Holders & Gift Bags

Today's tutorial is a 2-for-1:  tutorials for how to make your own fabric gift card holders and how to make your own fabric gift bags.  They're super easy to make and add a personal touch to any gift.

I made these as part of the birthday gifts for my boys' teachers.  Click here to see those.

First up is the gift card holders.

I made these just like the Fabric Nail File Sleeves but using different dimensions.

Supplies needed:

• Outer fabric cut 4.25 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall
• Inner fabric cut 4.25 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall
• Pellon Peltex 72F Double Sided Fusible Interfacing* cut 4.25 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall
• Thread (coordinating or contrasting, your choice)
• Pinking shears

*I already had this Pellon Peltex 72F on hand, and it was perfect for this application.  It is fairly sturdy and it has heat-set adhesive on both sides.  However, you could use many different products.  You could adhere regular interfacing (not lightweight) to one of your fabrics and just stack the other on top.  You could also use Wonder Under to adhere your fabrics together, but you may not have the structure needed for the gift card holder to hold its shape.  Fusible fleece is another option.  I'd love to hear comments from anyone who tries this project with a different interfacing.

Start by cutting your fabrics and fusing them together with Peltex in between, following manufacturer's instructions.

Next you need to sew a straight line 2+5/8 inches down from the top.  This stitching line will serve as your fold line later.  Backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching. 

Then sew another straight line 1/4 inch from the bottom (backstitch at the beginning and end).  This is part of how we'll finish off this edge.

Then use your pinking shears to trim off the seam allowance below that bottom stitching.  I used my fancy scalloped pinking shears.

This is still the same project.  I just flipped it over so you can see the stitching better.

Lay your project with the "inner" fabric on top and the "outer" fabric behind.  The finished edge should be along the bottom.  Now fold along your stitched folding line (folding finished edge up).  Your finished edge should be in front, and it should not reach the other top edge (we aren't folding it exactly in half).

Stitch both sides and the top by starting in the bottom left corner and sewing that side, turn and sew the top, turn and sew down the other side.  Backstitch at the beginning and end.  (If you're confused, there are a few more details about this process in the Fabric Nail File Sleeve Tutorial.)

Use your pinking shears to cut off the seam allowance on both sides and the top.

Finished front

Finished back

Add your gift card and you're done!

And now for the Fabric Gift Bag tutorial:

These are literally the easiest sewing project that I can think of. 

Materials:

• Fabric
• Thread
• Pinking shears
• Ribbon for tie

You can cut your fabric to whatever dimensions you want, depending on the size of bag you need.  I cut my fabric twice as tall as I wanted my finished bag.  That way I could just fold it in half rather than sewing the bottom.  This only works if your fabric's pattern can be viewed upside-down and right-side-up.  If your pattern only runs one direction, then you need to cut two pieces and sew them together along the bottom.  Confused?  I hope not.

For the teachers' gifts, I cut the candy bags 8 inches wide by 18 inches tall, which gave me finished bags that were 7.5"x9" (due to seam allowances).  The smaller bags for the office supplies were cut 5 inches wide by 12 inches tall, which gave me finished bags that were 4.5"x6".

So, Step 1:  Cut your fabric.

Step 2:  Fold in half with short ends lined up and right sides of the fabric facing each other.

Step 3:  Sew a seam on each side, 1/4" from the edge.  Backstitch at the beginning and the end.  The top will still be open and the bottom is the fold.  Clip a small triangle from each bottom corner, being very sure you cut outside the stitching.  This just reduces bulk when you turn the bag right-side-out.  It won't be detrimental if you skip this step.

You can barely see the stitching, but there's one seam going up the left side and one going up the right side.

Step 4:  Turn your bag right-side-out.  Use your finger, a pencil, a chopstick, or a corner turner to poke out the corners from the inside of the bag (without pushing too hard).

Step 5:  Use pinking shears to trim the top of the bag for a nice decorative edge that won't unravel.  You can cut both pieces of fabric at once.

You're done!

Fill your bag with a gift and tie it with a ribbon.

These are just a few little touches to personalize any gift!

Jessica