We have a Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas. It is on December 5th; a tradition of tossing things. Out. Of the window. And after that, for Christmas, another pile. I am talking about gift wrapping. With the help of fabric, I want to try and half that pile, this year, and possibly the next years too?
In order to halt that afore mentioned pile you could of course reuse the wrapping paper. Also there are plenty of wrappings available that you can arguably use again. But made of paper you will see wear on them. Also, this year our family needs to fly with our presents. So even if we do use new wrapping paper it will look second-hand by the time we unpack!
So I am going to use fabric bags to wrap the gifts in. And because of the important part of unwrapping, I need at least a 3 second delay between trying to open the gift and having the gift in your hand. Therefore I will be making the closures a little bit fiddly. Make a zipper, hiding a zipper. Use twenty different buttons. I am thinking about stuff like that. Lets see if I can use bags but keep the anticipation of unwrapping?
So, off I go in search of fun coloured fabric leftovers or used up clothing. As best I can I make a selection of bright colours and make sure I have enough meters. The sizes of gifts nowadays are notable, since there are more and more little kids in our family and the smaller the kids, the bigger the presents. Besides that, making teeny-weeny bags is no use, as the probability of fitting in next years gifts becomes smaller the smaller the bag is.
But there appears to be something missing. I need to make sure it is clear this gift wrapping is in the appropriate theme! There are plenty of X-massy fabrics, but we give our gifts for the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas… And gift giving for Sinterklaas but in Christmas paper is a no-go. So is there fabric with the Sinterklaas theme? Sure, at my (!) Spoonflower store. I didn’t really have any other choice…
Now, next up is your box of buttons, ribbons and other leftover things, make sure you keep it near. Yes, now you can reach out, find the colours on the bottom of your yarn box! Grab them patches of fabric you haven’t seen in years! Take them all out, baby!
Now for some play-time behind my machine! I am making two almost identical bags at the same time, “on the go” withouth much planning. Identical bags, in order to see how the bags work for different sizes of gifts. “On the go” because I like to give room to the unexpected side of this creative process.
As you can see, I patch worked together some fabrics, to create a fun feeling. Than four fabric ribbons. Now some clever wrapping…
Next up are two big bags, for big gifts. I want to make a kind of a corset-closure by stitching a two ribbons “zig-zag” on a piece of cloth, after which I stich it unto the bag. If you are also giving it a go, make sure the “entrance” of your bags are finished. I have put in an extra piece of fabric so you can not see inside before you have completely opened the bag.
For some smaller items, I am making two enveloppe-style bags. They are very long, when I want them smaller I just roll over the opening of the bags and voila, a smaller bag!
So, there will be a big pile of gifts, together with the paper wrapped gifts. I will hear in a week’s time what the unwrappers think of the presents like this. I’ll get back to you on that!
This was a lovely project! If you are going to make “bags for Christmas” than you might find yourself adding some juice to the sacks by using the stitches of your machine that you have never used before. If your audience is a little older than mine, use colours that are more sensitive, for a sleeker look. Maybe use velour or glittery fabric, to make it look contemporary or fancy. It is a lot of fun to make. And hopefully a small success at the Christmas table, this year or next. In any way, I will be wrapping up. (Whoeps)