wine gift bag tutorial. diy.

posted by jennifer:

as promised.  and even on the day i promised.  well, well, well.  i have to say, i have been in a good groove as far as getting things done.  i don't know how long it will last, but i am going to go with it.  maybe it is from all the exercise i got when we were in ojai.  22 miles biking.  i have heard that exercise gives you more energy.  maybe i should try to do that more. hmm.

so, i have been making wine gift bags.  with cute tags and such.  fun and fairly easy.

here's how i did it.

i used both felt and cotton fabric.  the felt is nice because you don't have to sew the edges.  but it certainly wasn't difficult to turn the edges of the cotton down and hem it.  go with whatever pleases your eye... or with whatever you have on hand.

here's a hint.  do not try to iron non wool felt.  it will melt on your iron.  grrr.  just go with the creases.  it adds personality right?  methinks yes.

i cut a rectangular piece of fabric 14.5 inches long and 12 inches high.  and a circle 5 inches across.

if you want to add pieces of burlap/muslin/cotton fabric details, be sure to sew it on before you move onto the next step.  on some of the bags i did a small rectangle of burlap with a even smaller rectangle of muslin.  on the muslin i had stamped words/names.  i used a stamp pad intended for fabric.  i don't know how necessary that is, but i figured it would remove the chance the ink would bleed in the event it got wet.

if you are using cotton with a raw edge, turn under the edge along the 14.5 inch side.

for all my seams i used 5/8 inch seam allowance.

next, you fold the rectangle piece in half, right sides together. (the two 12 inch sides should meet up)  stitch them together.  you should now have a cylinder.

if you want to add an extra challenge have a preschooler next to you pretending she is a doctor operating on your upper arm using your sewing machine repair kit... and don't let her use the seam ripper on you.  it hurts!

the next step is the trickiest.  you need to sew the circle to the open bottom of the cylinder you created in the previous step.

to do this you will match up the edges of the cylinder with the edges of the circle.  when you are sewing it on, you just need to keep adjusting the circle so that it meets up with the edge of the cylinder.  it takes a bit of finessing and constant adjusting.  but it is only a 5 inch circle, so if you have to rip out the thread and start over, it isn't too bad.

turn the bag right side out and that's all.

the fun part is all of the embellishing and tags. 

i made:
 woodland tags.. cutouts of owls on cardstock and embellished with twigs from the oak tree and holly sprigs.

wooden tags... i stained business card size piece of wood, then added a hand stamped bird picture.

on the bags i stamped on i used the sentiments:
  -eat, drink & be merry
  -cheers
  -home sweet home
  -the name of friends for a christmas gift

you can make ornaments to add.  you can add embellishments to personalize it. 

if you want to check out each of the bags in more detail you can see them in my etsy shop.
www.strawberryoaks.etsy.com

have fun creating.  just add wine and you have a perfect hostess gift.  a gift for a friend. a gift for your coworkers. 

cheers!