With the holiday season approaching, you may be thinking about fun and quick crafts you can make without a lot of money or time investment. Well, put on some music, make some hot cocoa, and sew together these quick and easy holiday fabric gift bags.
Not only do they make for a cheerful, simple holiday craft, but they’re useful too. The next time you have an odd-shaped gift or you just want to make a simple gift just a little bit more special, grab one of your DIY gift bags.
You can buy cute holiday gift bags. But if you have a sewing machine and you’d like to use it (you can hand sew these too!), then bookmark this Christmas fabric gift bag tutorial.
Have fun shopping for some cute holiday fabric and coordinating ribbon or string, then come back to it when you’re ready to sew.
You can make drawstring gift bags several different ways. The tutorial below describes how to make the one that works best with your fabric. They’re all easy, but I think the method below is the easiest by far. This is how to make a holiday gift bag pattern with directional fabric. I also plan to include a more tailored fabric gift bag version and a fully lined fabric gift bag to ensure your recipient can’t see what’s inside.
All of these fabric gift bags are easy to make!
You can make any size gift bag you like. The how of making a holiday fabric gift bag doesn’t change — whether you’re working with a giant gift you need to wrap or you just need a dainty organza gift bag for a delicate piece of jewelry. (An organza bag is even easier, actually, because you don’t need a lining.)
Of course, you can make a fabric gift bag for any season. I’m making these right now in anticipation of the holidays to come.
There’s one more idea I have for a fabric gift bag with a button closure. That might just have to be a different post, as will the cloth gift bags with handles. But you can definitely make all of these in bulk. You’ll save time cutting all the fabric at once, then sewing all the casings, then all the seams, then cutting and threading all the ribbon. It might even be a fun holiday craft you can do with your friends or family members. (Everyone could have a different job.)
Purchase handmade drawstring bags on Etsy
Holiday Fabric Gift Bag Tutorial
This method of making a drawstring gift bag works beautifully for directional prints (fabrics with a clear top and bottom design) and results in a nice, upscale looking lined gift bag.
Materials Needed
- Outer fabric (directional print)
- Lining fabric
- Drawstring material (ribbon, cord, or fabric strips)
- Thread
- Safety pin or bodkin (for threading drawstring)
- Chalk or erasable fabric marker
- Iron
- Basic sewing supplies
Cutting Your Fabric
Cut four rectangles of fabric, all the same size:
- 2 pieces of outer (directional) fabric
- 2 pieces of lining fabric
Note: Your rectangles can be any size you like, depending on how large you want your finished bag.
Tip: If using directional fabric, make sure both outer pieces are oriented the same way (pattern facing the same direction).
Step 1: Attach Lining to Outer Fabric
Seam allowance: 3/8″ (or at least 1/4″)
Take one piece of outer fabric and one piece of lining fabric. Place them right sides together, aligning the top edges. Sew along the top edge only—this is the edge that will become the top of your finished bag.
Repeat this process with your remaining outer fabric piece and lining piece.
You now have two sewn rectangles, each with outer fabric attached to lining fabric.
Step 2: Sew the Bag Body
Open each of your two rectangles so the seam lies flat. Place them right sides together with lining touching lining and outer fabric touching outer fabric.
Pin around all four edges, then sew all the way around the perimeter, leaving a 2-3 inch opening along the bottom edge of the lining fabric. This gap will be your turning opening.
Important: Sew completely around, including over the side seams that will later become your drawstring channel openings.
Step 3: Press and Turn
Before turning the bag right side out, press the side seams open with a hot iron. This will help you thread your drawstring later.
After pressing the seams open, turn the bag right side out by reaching through the opening you left in the lining and pulling the outer fabric through. Use your fingers or a turning tool to gently push out the corners.
Press the entire bag again with a hot iron to make crisp edges.
Step 4: Close the Gap
Hand-stitch or machine-stitch the opening in the lining closed, sewing very close to the edge. Since this is inside the lining, the stitching won’t be visible in your finished bag.
Step 5: Create the Drawstring Channel
Tuck the lining down inside the outer fabric so your bag is now right side out with the lining hidden inside.
Measure down from the top of the bag to where you want your drawstring to sit. Using chalk or an erasable fabric marker, draw two parallel horizontal lines around the bag. The space between these lines is your channel.
Channel width: Make sure the channel is at least wide enough to fit your safety pin, and I usually make it a little wider than whatever I’m using as a drawstring. For example, if you’re using 1/2″ wide ribbon, a 3/4″ channel gives it plenty of room for threading and to lie flat later.
Sew along both marked lines to create the drawstring channel.
Step 6: Open the Channel
On each side seam, carefully pick out a small section of stitching within your channel using a seam ripper. These openings are where you’ll thread your drawstrings through.
Why sew then unpick? Sewing first, pressing, then carefully opening just the channel helps keep your seam allowances flat, making threading much easier.
Step 7: Thread the Drawstrings
Drawstring length: Cut two pieces of drawstring, each approximately 3 times the width of your bag. This ensures enough length to go all the way around with extra for tying.
Attach a safety pin or bodkin to the end of one drawstring. Thread it through one of the openings you created, working it all the way around the channel until it comes out the same opening. Tie the two ends together in a knot.
Take your second drawstring and thread it through the opposite opening, going all the way around and coming out the same side. Tie the ends in a knot.
Now you can pull both drawstrings to cinch your bag closed!
You’re Finished!
Your drawstring gift bag is complete and ready to fill with presents. The beauty of this method is that the directional print stays right-side-up, and the lining gives your bag a polished, professional finish.
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