Patchwork Gift Bag from Fabric Scraps

Challenge number 6 for the 12 Days of Christmas DIY Challenges was to make some gift wrapping from fabric scraps.

I have a lot of fabric scraps - all boxed up according to colour. So I grabbed a selection from my green and red boxes.

And ironed them so they were easier to cut!

My scraps are lots of odd shapes - few big enough for a bag in themselves, so I decided to use patchwork to make use of all those smaller and odd shaped scraps!

And here's how to make a simple patchwork gift bag from fabric scraps.

Cut lots of squares of a selection of fabrics, 6 x 6 cm (2.5 x 2.5")

For the smaller sized bag I made you will need 50 squares.

Arrange your squares 5 across by 10 down in whatever pattern you choose.

Sew each row of 5 squares together - one by one, right sides facing.

Then press all your seams open.

And join the rows together one by one, matching up the seams with the right sides facing together.

Now you have the main outer part of your bag. Cut another piece of fabric the same size as this, 

(should be approx 24 x 46 cm) (9.5 x 18").

Fold both pieces in half along the long side, right sides of the fabric together to form 2 basic bag shapes. Stitch up the sides of each 'bag'. 

In the inner fabric, leave a gap of about 10 cm (4") on one side seam to turn the bag right sides out at the end.

For the outer fabric, leave two gaps near the top of each side seam - about 1 cm (0.5") from the top and about 2 cm (1") wide. This is for the casing for the drawstring.

Now leave your outer bag piece inside out, but turn your inner piece right sides out and push it inside the outer bag. So both 'right sides' should be facing each other.

Pin then stitch all the way around the top of the bag.

Reach inside your bag and turn the bag right sides out through the gap in the inner bag piece.

Then stitch the gap closed.

Your outer and inner bag pieces are now joined. All that remains is the casing and drawstring!

Push the inner bag inside the outer bag.

Now stitch around the top of the bag in two rows, one on either side of the casing gaps you left in the side seams of the outer bag.

Cut two pieces of string or ribbon for your drawstring that are a little more than double the width of your bag.

Use a large safety pin to thread each drawstring through the casing all the way around, one from each side of the bag.

You can leave your drawstring ties with just a knot, or add a small scrap of fabric like I have here to encase it which makes it a little neater and also prevents the knot from becoming untied!

And there you have a patchwork gift bag - reusable eco-friendly wrapping for a Christmas gift!

I'd cut so many squares when I first started to make this bag, that I had enough left over to make another bag. The second one was a little bigger than the first!

For the free downloadable PDF version of this tutorial, click here.

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This tutorial is in answer to challenge 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas DIY Challenges. To make gift wrapping from your fabric scraps. If you have a project that fits this challenge then please do enter it into our linky party here - open until Christmas!~

For 12 days starting on November 2nd we will set a challenge a day to create something for Christmas using just the resources you have on hand. 
The idea is to show that Christmas Shouldn't Cost the Earth. If you're reading this, chances are you love to craft, but why not craft with the resources we have on hand - let's get creative!

Each day a challenge will be set by means of a video and blog posts giving some suggested ideas and crafts. These posts will also contain a linky party for anyone and everyone who wants to join in to link up their projects - both past and present, that answer the challenge.  The linky party can be found on all our blogs and we'll  try and come up with different ideas and tutorials for the challenges too. So please to visit us all, and then share your ideas with us as well! We're looking forward to seeing how these challenge are met!

Ready, Steady....Let's Christmas Craft!


The 12 Days of Christmas DIY Challenges is brought to you by

Jill @ Creating my way to Success
Vicky @ Vicky Myers Creations
Anna @ Tea and a Sewing Machine
Pam @ Threading My Way
Anne @ Domesblissity

Previous Challenges
Challenge 1 - Upcycle old clothes to Christmas Decoration
Challenge 2 - Make a Christmas Gift from a pair of old jeans
Challenge 3 - Make a fun Christmas snack - use what you've got
Challenge 4 - Make a Christmas Card from a cereal box
Challenge 5 - Make a Christmas Decoration from something in your shed