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I don’t use paper gift wrap anymore. It’s expensive. It’s a pain to store. And the pile of it left after opening gifts always feels more than a little wasteful.

A couple of years ago I started making fabric bags for gifts. I love them! They’re so crazy easy to make – and they take no room at all to store when they’re not in use. Nice! Oh – and the ribbons are attached. No separate bows and no tape needed.

I make two different kinds. Ones that gather and tie at the top, like this one. . .

And ones that wrap around the gift and then tie, like this one. . .

Want to know how to make them? Be prepared for simplicity.

Cut two rectangles of fabric. Any size. I have a huge variety.

Sew them together around three sides (watch this video showing how to sew a straight line and turn corners if you’re a beginner). If you’re making the first kind of bag – the one that gathers and ties at the top – cut 1 yard of ribbon, fold it in half, and embed the fold in the side seam (video here), a few inches from the top of the bag. When you turn it right side out it will look like this. . .

Hem the top opening. (Video here.)

If you’re making the second kind of bag, cut a ribbon 2 times the length of the bag plus an additional yard. Fold it in half and sew the fold at top of the bag in the center of one side. It should look like this. . .

Done!

Wrapping is easy. Pop in the gift. Fold the top of the bag over. Tie the ribbon. Here’s what it looks like from the back. . .

And here it is from the front. . .

I don’t stick to holiday-ish fabric – we use these for birthdays and other occasions too.

A lot of mine use grosgrain ribbon because I have a lot of it on hand from some aprons I used to make and sell. But sometimes I use pretty gauzy ribbon.

Any fabric. Any ribbon. It all works well, looks pretty and folds up to store easily. Love!

Update – I got a lot of questions about how we tag them. I started using easy reusable felt tags, and there’s a tutorial here showing how to make them.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi