Saturday, November 17, 2007

More Gift Bags

Yes it's easier to make a gift bag once you know what size the contents are going to be. My husband will tell me that I don't get any prezzies unless I make a bag of such and such proportions. Of course I jump to and make the bags.

At this point I have a stash of many sizes. Not so many small ones, because little items often end up in stockings.

This kind of enclosure (frog? Chinese button?) is really classy looking and so easy to attach with glue. I utility quilted each little snowflake dot on this bag.

This is the bag I just finished yesterday, again quilting just the snowflake dots. I made little tiny crosses with white perle cotton thread.

When I first started out I was cautious with what fabric I used for the inside. Just trying to use up stash didn't work well for me. It has to "go" or else it draws attention to itself. Anyway, I now often use a bright contrasting fabric:

For the edge, I stitch up the inside fabric, rather than the outside fabric so there's a nice contrasting "racing stripe"

I have some poly-fil polyester batting that I've been using up. The real advantage is that it doesn't need any quilting to hold its shape, so you can make the bags faster. I think this little bag actually looks kinda classy. It has bright red fabric inside.

Oh my oh my, bright gorgeous sunshine out there in the world. Who cares that it's only 42 degrees (not celsius of course!). I'm actually going to be smart and wear a coat out there instead of the thin sweater I've been using recently.

12 comments:

Sandy's Quilter's Block said...

I love your gift bags, Ton! They are wonderful. Thanks for sharing the tips on making them. You are so clever.

Clare said...

The red chilli fabric is lovely. I love the "envelope" one too. Cold here too. 2 nights of very heavy frost.

Joyce said...

The gift bags are great but how can you give them away???

Donna said...

love your gift bags -- the one's my family use aren't quilted, I may have to give it a try to put in that little more work :-)

Yes a jacket is called for but go, enjoy the sun while its there! :-)

Susan said...

I really like the striped one, too! This is such a great idea. I could make a couple for the checks going to my children. LOL! Even if it's chilly temps, the sun makes it feel better - at least it does here, but we aren't having chillies yet.

Kristin Shields said...

These are great. I've made a bunch of bags with drawstrings, but I like this envelope method too. Yours are nice in that each one is so individual. Can I squeeze in a few of these???

Quilts And Pieces said...

I"ve always loved your gift bags! That is so fun. I can't even imagine Mark wanting to use one - he would say "I'm not touching any quilting fabric" = Bahhh HumBug!

atet said...

Oooh -- I think the chili pepper one is my favorite! I may have to try whipping some of these up. would be a great way to not have to buy so much paper (though, I think we'll have some of that too for ripping effect)!

jmb_craftypickle said...

I love the roller coaster one...great idea!

julieQ said...

Fun gift bags. I like the wrappings as much as the gifts!! 85 degrees here...and leaves mostly still on the trees!

Julie

Gypsy Quilter said...

What a fantastic idea! And they can be used year after year. No more wasted paper, ribbon, and tape. You are too clever.

Unknown said...

Wow! Look at the pattern matching on that little Santa bag! You are rolling!!