How to make an organza gift bag.

Sometimes gift wrapping is there to disguise what a gift is, but other times you just want things to look pretty.  We have shown you how to make a pouch before, and these are great for gifts such as dice or other knick-knacks and make great gifts by themselves. Organza gift bags are a fantastic way to add sparkle to a gift such as wine, or for placing lots of smaller gift wrapped presents in.

I chose organza as to me it's very ethereal and magical. However it's iridescence causes one problem, you can see the seam allowance. So for this gift bag we will use French seams which look much neater than a visible rough seam.  Another advantage of organza is that it is very easy to store your left over bits for projects just like this. Check out our guide on how to organize your fabrics.

You will need:

Organza
Scissors
Needles
Pins 
Ribbon
Thread

Step One
Cut out a rectangle of organza. Make the rectangle about 50% larger than your gift.

With WRONG sides together pin the rectangle together along the long and one short edge. Normally we sew right sides together but with a  French seam we start with wrong sides together. Sew with a 1cm seam allowance on the long and one short edge.










Step Two
Press the seam allowance to one side.

Turn the bag inside out and again press the seams so they are neat and straight.

Step Three
Sew along the seam allowance. Now if we turn the bag  right side out we can see the seams are now totally enclosed. This is not only more attractive than rough seams being visible, it also makes the bag much more durable.












Step Four
All that remains is making the casing for the ribbon. To begin with hem the top of the bag (folding the rough edge in on itself, pressing and folding again).

Now fold the top of the bag down so the bag is at the right height.

Now mark where you want the ribbon casing to be.
 The unfold the top and place a small button whole on each side of the bag, where the seam casing will be.

Step Five
Fold the bag's top inwards so the bag is the desired hight again. Now just run two parallel lines on either side of the button hole stitch.

Attach a safety pin to the ribbon and use this to thread through one button hole right around the bag's casing and out through the same button hole. Repeat for the second button hole. Make sure to tie a knot in the ribbon once it's threaded to stop it being accidentally pulled out.














And behold you now have a stylish and possibly magical organza gift bag. A perfect way to add sparkle to any occasion. And a great use for left over fabrics.

From all at Fabric8, Merry Christmas, and a crafty new year to you all.