Last night as I was trying to go to sleep, this gift bag idea dropped into my head. I tried to dismiss it thinking I would make one really quick before church but to no avail. I had to get up and make one and I literally had it done in 5 minutes (minus the little flower which took another two to hand sew on). So the 5 minute gift bag was born.
Although I made this entire bag with my serger, I am not comfortable at all with sergers. And just as a heads up so you aren't getting wary of using your serger to try this little project out, I only used two different settings on my serger to make this bag. AND, it did not require me to change needle positions or re-thread my serger in any way. I just had to change the tension, yay!! I am a very beginner with this, so I figure if I can do it, so can you!!!
This is what you will need:
- a serger (or sewing machine will do, you could just use a straight stitch)
- material for a bag ( I used this embroidered gauzy material I found on clearance at Joann's a while back. I'm not sure what the material type is but I think it can be found in the bridal section.)
- ribbon for the handle (I used the kind with a wire edge so it wont flop down)
- silk flowers or whatever you like for embellishing
This is what you do:
- cut two pieces of material the same size (mine measures about 10X6 inches)
- using the 2 thread wrapped overlock on your serger (knife disengaged) and with the right sides of material together, serge the sides and bottoms of the materials together
- now box the bottom of the bag by pulling the front and back of the bag away from each other near the bottom corner, pin, and serge (knife engaged) the corner about 1-1.5 inches in which will create a seam about 2-3 inches long. Repeat with other corner. (as a side note, I ALWAYS remove the pins once I put the presser foot down on the project. I have cut through a couple of pins and I'm just thinkin' that has to be bad for the serger)
- this is what your bag should look like on the bottom at this point
turn your bag right side out and roll down the top to the desired height into the inside of the bag
now turn the inside of the fold out so the outside of the bag is folded down on itself and the raw edge is even with the new fold (think blind hem fold only the edges are all even).
now change your serger setting to a two thread flatlock (knife disengaged) and serge all around the top fold and raw edge (Make sure in this step that you are not stitching through the fold and raw edge on the opposite side of the bag)
now turn the top of the bag up and pull on it so a ladder of stitching is revealed on the outside of the bag like so
cut your ribbon handle to the desired length, fold under the edges of the ribbon and place raw edge of ribbon even with the top of the bag and evenly over the seam on on one side of the bag. (ok, so the raw ribbon edge in this photo is not even with the top of the bag, but I adjusted it afterwards so just pretend it is. I just forgot to take another photo)
fold the ribbon down, creating a fold in the ribbon even with the top edge of the bag and the raw edge of ribbon
with the serger set up the same the last time used, serge across the ribbon fold, raw ribbon edge and the top of the bag (sorry no photo for this step). Repeat to attach ribbon to other side.
Now lift handle up into place, pulling stitches in serged seam so the ladder stitching is obvious on outside of bag on ribbon handle.
Now you can embellish the bag or leave it as is, it's all up to you!!
Well, how clever are you! It's adorable. I must try this, although, I have to admit, I'm a bit afraid of my serger, too.
Posted by: MichelleB | 05 October 2008 at 07:35 PM
This is a great idea! Thanks for putting the tutorial together!
Posted by: randi | 05 October 2008 at 08:55 PM
that is so cute!
Posted by: Devita | 06 October 2008 at 12:37 AM
Oh how lovely, they look like they would cost a lot of money if you were to buy them so well worth making. I will have to buy some suitable fabric and give it a go. It'll have to be on my sewing machine though, no Serger here!
Yvonne
Posted by: Yvonne | 06 October 2008 at 09:10 AM
Fabulous! What a great way to make a last-minute gift really special. I'll be linking to this.
Posted by: Rachel | 06 October 2008 at 01:08 PM
Really cute!
Posted by: Amy @ parkcitygirl | 06 October 2008 at 03:20 PM
What an awesome tutorial right before the holidays start - thanks!
Posted by: Moonbeam | 06 October 2008 at 03:29 PM
Fantastic idea - it looks gorgeous!
Posted by: Kate | 06 October 2008 at 04:32 PM
Sew.. I just saw this on OnePrettyThing.. and I LOVE IT! I do not have a serger..too spooky. You talk about sewing through pins.. I am pretty sure I would sew through an arm if I had one of those bad boys. hehe.
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: LollyChops | 06 October 2008 at 07:18 PM
Very cool Penny! Thanks for sharing -- I LOVE my serger -- almost all of the sewing I do with it is done with the same ol' stitch so I rarely have to drag the manual out to try something new!
Posted by: thimbleanna | 06 October 2008 at 07:42 PM
They're so pretty! I'm not comfortable with my serger either, but I'd really like to try this.
Posted by: lulu | 06 October 2008 at 08:49 PM
What a great project - it will my first one on my brand new Juki MO-734DE - which isn't even out of the box yet! Thanks so much!
Posted by: Candace | 07 October 2008 at 11:20 AM
What a clever idea and wonderful tutorial! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Caroline | 07 October 2008 at 01:07 PM
that is great... I have ideas like that, the kind that won't leave your mind and then you just have to do it ASAP.... this one is going on my to do list...
Posted by: Jennie | 07 October 2008 at 09:48 PM
That turned out great! And your tutorial was very informative. I don't have a serger, but I might try that on a regular machine..Thanks!
Penny
Posted by: Penny @ Lavender Hill Studio | 08 October 2008 at 08:26 PM
Hi Penny, those bags are lovely!!I am loving all the things you have been making with your machine!!
Sarah x
Posted by: sarah | 09 October 2008 at 03:53 AM
You have great tutorials and you make beautiful things.. Love your blog!
Posted by: lisette | 16 October 2008 at 12:43 PM
This is great. I just bought a serger, and this will probably be my first project. If it works well, I'll make some for my mom too. We're so cheap! We love reusable packages. Christmas morning, you'll always hear, "save the bag!"
Posted by: Carolyn | 18 October 2008 at 07:32 AM
Exquisite little bag! Thank you for sharing your tutorial.
Posted by: Christy | 09 November 2008 at 02:01 AM
Again, what can I say. You are so gifted! U AMAZE ME! So humbled and thankful to be your friend!
Posted by: Glynis | 12 December 2008 at 04:37 PM
really nice. I would like to start to sew, and this idea is a nice start.
please come and visit my blog and let me know what you think
Sonia
Posted by: Sonia | 26 June 2009 at 01:05 AM
This idea is terrific ! I have an old pair of embroidered curtains in a drawer that I thought I would use again, but my tastes changed. What a great way to "repurpose" !! Thank you for your "dreamy" idea !!!
Posted by: mimi | 09 October 2009 at 10:30 PM
I came across your site and love the tutorial very much. It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.
Posted by: Dilasari | 11 December 2009 at 07:12 AM
This is an easy to follow tutorials for such a pretty gift bag.
Posted by: girl @ Silk Wedding Bouquets | 06 September 2010 at 08:51 AM
What a lovely project you have here, I love the finish product. It's unbelievable how easy the tutorial, glad to have this here. Thanks a lot.
Posted by: Florist Sydney | 04 March 2011 at 06:23 AM
Wow this tutorial is very easy to follow, even if I am not so fast to do it in 5 minute, my first bag came out pretty good! now its time to try some other tutorial of yours!
Posted by: Boot camp | 19 April 2011 at 11:42 AM
Wow.. It's beautiful. I never see such gift bag. Thanks for sharing this tutorial. I will try out for this.
Posted by: מרפאת שיניים בראשון לציון | 20 November 2011 at 08:25 AM
it will my first one on my brand new Juki MO-734DE - which isn't even out of the box yet! Thanks so much!
Posted by: gift baskets | 12 March 2012 at 12:41 AM
I came across your site and love the tutorial very much. It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.
Posted by: Baby gift baskets | 18 March 2012 at 05:12 AM