Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Holiday Gift Blog Hop: Day 1


Hello! It's Day 1 of the Holiday Gift Blog Hop, and the Benartex blog team is sharing a tutorial for making easy fabric gift bags. You can use these bags instead of gift wrap and use them again and again! (And no tape or ribbons necessary--added bonus!)



We chose to make these bags up using the brand new United We Stand collection from Kanvas. Small swatches don't do these designs justice--take a look at them in larger pieces.

These military-themed prints would also make great gift bags for soldiers (and it's not too late to do something for this holiday season!). Put together a care package and fill a handmade drawstring bag and send it to troops away from home or drop it off at a local veteran's center. You can find a variety of links to opportunities for making/sending care packages here.

Now let's make the bag! 

You'll Need:
2/3 yard outer print
1 yard lining print (includes handles)
Fabric marking pen
Safety pin

Cutting:
From the outer print:
(2) 18-1/2" squares

From the inner print:
(2) 18-1/2" squares
(3) 4-1/2" x 42" strips for handles

On both side edges of an outer print square, measure and mark 1-1/2" down from the top and 4" down from the top. Layer the 2 outer squares right sides together and sew around 3 sides using a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving the 2-1/2" between marks unstitched. Make sure you backstitch at both marks. Do the same with the 2 inner squares, but leave a 4" opening along the bottom edge for turning.

Press seam open around each casing opening.


Turn the outer bag right side out. Insert inside the lining with right sides together, matching seams and raw edges. Pin. Stitch around the top edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Turn the bag right side out, handstitch the opening in the lining, and stuff the lining inside. The casing holes should line up. Use a ruler and fabric marking pen to mark the top and bottom of the casing holes.

Stitch on the 2 marked casing lines, making sure not to stitch through both sides of the bag.

See how the casing holes line up? This means your bag can be reversible. (If you don't care about a reversible bag, you only need to make the casing holes on the outer bag.)

Sew the (3) 4" x 42" strips short ends together to make a long strip. Fold the strip in half, wrong sides together, and press. Open the folds and fold and press long edges in to the center fold. 

Fold the long strip in half again and topstitch. Cut stitched strip in half to create 2 pieces.

Attach a safety pin to 1 end of 1 handle. Starting on the left side of the bag, feed through the casing, past the casing hole on the right, and back through so the end comes out on the left side. Feed the other strap in from the right side, passing the left casing hole, and back out the right side. 

Trim strips to desired length and knot on each side. 

Your bag is done! 

Here's the bag with the original lining on the outside as well. 
When you've got 2 fabrics you love, having a reversible option is the best solution!

We couldn't stop with just one bag, so we used these prints and the drawstring pillowcase tutorial featured on the blog last summer (find it here) to make a larger bag/pillowcase option.

From drawstring bag to pillowcase!

The two bags together:

Would you like to win a fat quarter bundle of Benartex or Kanvas fabric? Sign up to follow our blog (via email or Bloglovin'--both in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment letting us know you did so (or are already following!). For a second entry, like us on Facebook and leave another comment. In your comment, also tell us the most challenging gift you ever wrapped. The giveaway will be open through Thursday, December 12th at 11:59 EST, at which point we'll use a random number generator to select a winner.


See the other Holiday Gift Blog Hop tutorials here:
Day 2: Toddler Purse and Doll Blanket by Jennie from Clover & Violet
Day 3: Beer Coozies and Coasters from the Benartex blog team
Day 4: Mae's Daisy Quilt by Melissa from My Quilt Relish
Day 5: Honey Bee Quilt by Erin from Why Not Sew? 

Looking for more holiday gift ideas? Check out the projects from our Holiday Headstart blog hop back in October:

Day 1: Take Me to Class Tote by Tessa from The Sewing Chick
Day 2: Window Zip Pouch by Emily from Mommy's Nap Time
Day 3: Squared Stripe Pincushion from the Benartex blog design team
Day 4: Bold Braid Quilt by Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation
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121 comments:

  1. I am following this blog through Blogger and by email.

    Wow, this is an amazing giveaway! The most challenging gift that I have ever wrapped was a large Craftsman tool set in a storage bin because it was just so heavy that I could barely lift it. Thankfully I had one of my hubby's friend go shopping with me so I did not have lift it myself.

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  2. I follow via Bloglovin'.

    As with Diane, mine was tool related. When I was a teenager I got my brother a somewhat large toolbox. It could not really be wrapped, so I gave him a note with a clue, that led him to the next note/clue, and so on, for about 20 minutes (including one trip outside in pj's and barefeet!)

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  3. I also 'like' you on facebook. And I love the military theme fabrics. My son was in Iraq in 2010 and I sent lots of care packages!

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  4. I also like your Facebook page. - Love this tutorial too btw. I always find soft toys difficult to wrap. It's so easy to put your fingers through the wrapping paper!

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  5. I follow you via email. Thanks for the heads up on the blog hop!

    My most difficult item to wrap? I can't really think of one--I must give very boring gifts! My mom was a really careful wrapper; her packages always looked beautiful. One year my brother was having one of his purchases gift wrapped at the store, and he couldn't resist giving tips to the teen doing the wrapping, having watched our mom work her magic for so many years.

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  6. I already follow with emails and also Feedly.
    Well...I don't think we wrapped the most challenging...lol. It was a john boat for fishing which we kids got for my dad!! While we were at church, my brother arranged for friends to deliver it to our back porch. Then we just had to keep Dad from going out there before he unwrapped the present with a clue!

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  7. Hi I already follow this fun blog. Love all the creative tips and projects. The most difficult seem to be the boxed toys with the front open. Have a nice holiday!

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  8. I follow by email and with Feedly.

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  9. I already follow you on FB. I can't remember the most challenging gift I ever wrapped. I have some memory problems. Sorry!

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  10. I follow via email and GFC. I find it difficult to wrap odd shaped boxes, like ones with five sides or ones that are bigger on one end than the other.

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  11. I already follow on FB. Thanks. Lg items like a childs vanity, bike, car..... chair

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  12. I already follow you on Facebook. I can't think of anything that was hard to wrap - I usually just throw it in a box!

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  13. Hi I already follow you by email. jotenijo@yahoo.ca

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  14. I also like you on Facebook. Soft plush toys are also hard to wrap, I usually just tie a bow & attach a tag. jotenijo@yahoo.ca

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  15. The most trouble I had with wrapping a gift was a bike for Christmas. It was still in the box but do you know how much paper it takes to wrap one of those? LOL!

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  16. I follow by email and I love the bag and the fabric.

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  17. I am already a follower, and glad of it!

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  18. I am a follower/liker on Facebook and the most difficult thing I ever wrapped was a rabbit. My nephew wanted a rabbit and my sister finally agreed he could have one but didn't want to give it to him with his normal gifts so I was to bring it as my gift Christmas Day. It was not easy but I managed to get the gift in and played music that I had discovered in the 2 days I had "Blinky" that made him sleepy, so he was calm and quiet for the 5 minutes while we called the kids in to greet me and get their gifts. Needless to say when the wrapping came off Blinky was no longer calm with all the screaming and jumping going on both him and my nephew.

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  19. Most challenging present to wrap was a cookie tin the shape of a snowglobe - a fabric bag would have been perfect!!!

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  20. I follow you and I like your Facebook page :) Tanks for this tutorial!

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  21. I follow you by email. I don't wrap challenging things they get a bow and tag!
    gayle illusions@rainierconnect.com

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  22. I already read you on FB
    My most challenging was a bike

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  23. I already follow you via email!
    My most challenging gift to wrap was a chicken!!!

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  25. I follow you on FB also.
    Not really challenging, but I was able to fit a queen size quilt into a small enough box that my sister, who was expecting the quilt, didn't see a large box under the tree and thought she wasn't getting one.

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  26. I follow via email. Love your fabrics babscorbitt@gmail.com

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  27. Most challenging present to wrap, besides a bicycle was a golf club. we added all sorts of side pieces so it wouldn't look like a long skinny stick.

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  28. I loked you on facebool babscorbitt@gmail.com

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  29. I subscribe to your blog. I try not to wrap big items as that's a waste of paper. I can cut out a photo of the item and put that in a small box and wrap that, or buy a small accessory ( vacuum cleaner bags) and wrap it instead with a note stating that the vacuum is included.
    These fabric bags look great and would be inexpensive to make when finding sale fabrics...almost as cheap as paper and re-usable to boot.

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  30. I follow by e-mail.

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  31. I am already a follower. I follow via Bloglovin. The most challenging gift I have ever wrapped is probably the tubes of lipstick I wrapped to put in my daughters stocking.

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  32. Already like you on FB. Mine was a chainsaw that I got for my brother. It didn't come in a box but a chainsaw shaped storage unit. I couldn't find a box big enough for it so I wrapped bubble wrap around the saw part until it was roughly the same size as the body and then wrapped it in paper. When I handed it to him he couldn't figure out why half was squishy and half was hard but loved it once he opened it.

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  33. I am already a Facebook page follower also. Thank you for the chance to enter.

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  34. I follow by email. Big, bulky things are always a challenge.

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  35. I already follow through bloglovin. Thanks for the chance at the giveaway.
    I have tried to wrap a bike before, but gave up and just put a bow on it...it was from Santa anyway!

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  36. I follow by email and blog lovin I think a bicycle was the hardest thing I ever wrapped. We actually blew up balloons and covered the bike then wrapped it so our son could not guess what it was

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  37. I follow by email. My most challenging item to wrap was a bike. Thanks

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  38. I follow by email, great bag tutorial! Hardest thing to wrap would be a basketball and tv, just not fun....this was pre gift bags :)

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  39. I already follow through bloglovin. Thanks!

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  40. I follow the blog via emai. I like fabric bags and have made several, as I think it works as a second gift, since it can be reused to store things or just passed along. I like the idea of the pillowcase/gifbag hybrid! You could stuff it with a small quilt or a set of sheets and voila, a complete self contained present.
    I once tried wrapping a scooter... and found a large piece of fabric drapped over it was easier and just as good!

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  41. I'm already following with Bloglovin'. Thanks for the tutorial & the giveaway.

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  42. Already liking you on FB. The most challenging gift I ever wrapped was a big box of dinosaurs - the only rectangular part of the box was the bottom. Thanks.

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  43. I already follow you on Bloglovin! The most challenging gift to wrap and hide was a basketball hoop and bikes that we bought for our boys for when we moved into our new home just after the new year. We were living in a small apartment at the time and had no place to hide them. Thank you for sharing! anglanouette at gmail dot com

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  44. I already like you on facebook!
    anglanouette at gmail dot com

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  45. I follow on Bloglovin. A car bar lock was tricky to wrap. 24Tangent@gmail.com

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  46. I follow you on Facebook.

    My most challenging gift to wrap was a replacement window for my hubby's 59 el camino.

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  47. I already follow you in email. Thanks for the opportunity to win the fabric!

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  48. I follow by email and GFC. One hard-to-wrap gift was a bike my son got one year.

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  49. I follow you via email. I am gift wrapping challenged, it really doesn't matter how big or small it does not look good. lol. Thanks for sharing! vickise at gmail dot com

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  50. Great bags! I'm a Bloglovin follower!

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  51. I follow you by email.
    Hardest gift to wrap was probably a guitar - I just gave up and hid it under a table!

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  52. Email subscriber. I don't really think I've wrapped anything all that challenging ~ if the gift didn't come in a box, then I put it in one.

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  53. The most awkward gift I ever had to wrap was the shovels we got the kids to play with in May the snow! Awesome giveaway!!!

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  54. Love the tutorial. I follow on facebook.

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  55. This is a cute and easy project! Maybe even faster than looking for the rolls of paper you bought on clearance last year, and put away. lol.

    I follow your blog via bloglovin and email

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  56. I also follow on Facebook. Most challenging gift was probably the large rocking horse on springs that "Santa" gave my son when he was 2. I think we wrapped the horse, just to be funny. The frame was too big to wrap.

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  57. I'm a follower. The hardest thing I have tried to wrap was a fishing rod--it was pretty obvious as to what was in the package.

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  58. I follow you on bloglovin. Nice project! Thanks for the chance!I

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  59. Gorgeous bags.I follow via email and GFC

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  60. I follow you on FB.The most challenging thing I have wrap was a motorbike.

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  61. Already liked you on FB, most challenging gift I ever had to wrap was a bicycle! times 3, for my three sons!!!
    thanks for the chance :)

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  62. I already follow via email.

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  63. I would love to win some United We Stand fabric. I would make something for my Army son-in-law. I've been following you via email and Bloglovin. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  64. i am a happy follower via email. love your fabric!! babscorbitt@gmail.com

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  65. i already liked you on facebook babscorbitt@gmail.com

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  66. I follow Bloglovin and look forward to reading it each day.

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  67. Great project! I'll be using pillowcases to wrap a few gifts this season. I follow via e-mail.

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  68. I follow via bloglovin... Hardest gift to wrap would have been a globe

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  69. I receive your posts via email. The most challenging gift was a very big box that used lots of wrapping paper.

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  70. I have also liked your facebook page.
    The hardest gift to wrap? I always used to struggle with clothing, back when you hardly ever thought of getting a gift box for them lol

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  71. I follow by e-mail and look forward to each post!

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  72. I "like" you on FB. The most challenging gift I've ever wrapped was a Hot Wheels set with a loop, for my nephew. My (new at the time) husband decided he needed to "try it out to make sure it works". Of course, as any good Aunt or parent knows, those things never come apart again! Thanks for the chance to win.

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  73. I like you on Facebook. The most challenging thing I've wrapped was a tricycle. Thanks for the tutorial and giveaway.

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  74. I follow you via email, the most challeging thing that I had to wrap was the little Peugeot that I bought for my step daughter last year. I bought sheets from the charity shop and dyed them red and green and draped them over the car, I tore one into strips to make a big bow and used what seemed like a mile of tinsel to decorate it.

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  75. I follow via google friend connect.

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  76. Great tutorial. Love the fabric. Following on Bloglovin.

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  77. i am a follower on facebook. most challenging gift wrapped was a large round plastic tube.

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  78. Hi, I follow via email, thanks for the giveaway.
    smjohns63 at yahoo dot com

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  79. Thanks for the great tutorial - really appreciate it. I follow you on Bloglovin. The most difficult gifts that I've ever had to wrap was a guitar and an ax!!
    Happy Holidays!
    Dawn
    array-dawn at cox dot net

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  80. I have liked FB page for awhile, I can't remember ever having a gift that was hard to wrap, must be getting old lol.
    smjohns63 at yahoo dot com

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  81. I have you liked on FB already!
    Happy Holidays!
    Dawn
    array-dawn at cox dot net

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  82. I follow your blog via email: ksmith8@emich.edu

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  83. I also follow on FB. I don't remember what it was, but I wrapped a box that was so big, it took an entire roll of wrapping paper and I ran out and the box was showing on the bottom :) Thanks for the chance to win.

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  84. I follow you on Bloglovin. Most challenging gift to wrap was a guitar... I just knew my DS would figure that one out! LOL

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  85. I Follow You, Am On Facebook With You And Get The Preview Packs. The Most Difficult Thing I Ever Had To Wrap Was A 14 1/2 Inch All Clad Saute Pan. It WaIs Huge And Weighed More Than I Could lift

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  86. I'm already a follower with Bloglogin!

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  87. I follow your blog via bloglovin!
    *Jessica
    juceyj03@gmail.com

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  88. I liked you on Facebook!
    *Jessica
    juceyj03@gmail.com

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  89. The hardest thing I have ever tryed to wrap was a pair of Ugg boots not in the box because my husband used the box to wrap another gift because he said it was to hard to wrap...lol! I guess it never ran through his mind that in the end the boots would have to be wrapped as well! Silly men!!
    Thanks a lot for the chance, Jessica
    juceyj03@gmail.com

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  90. I follow your blog. The most difficult gift I have tried to wrap was a pair of cross country skiis!

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  91. I follow via Bloglovin. The hardest gift I've wrapped is a bey blade stadium. It's awkward, flimsy plastic. hayleymstephens at gmail dot com

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