Designer: Patti Milazzo

With the fall season quickly approaching and Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’m already thinking about how to prepare for what’s to come. We can look forward to Fall festivities and social gatherings and let’s not forget guests from afar visiting to join in celebrating Thanksgiving.

I find it’s helpful to have small gift bags on hand for such occasions and this simple fabric bag design is a breeze to create. It has a built in liner for a finished look and best of all it’s a design that is versatile and easily adaptable to any purpose or size needed.

To create the basic bag, I cut 2 equal sized rectangles – the bag’s actual height would be half the length. One half will serve as the liner while the other half will be the outside of the bag. With right sides together, I sewed around the edge leaving a 2 inch opening at one end. I then turned out the piece and stitched closed the opening. To finish, I tucked one half of the length into the other. That’s it! It’s incredibly easy especially with Fiskars sewing tools and there’s no fuss with trying to create a liner that fits just right.

For my first project, I started with the simplest bag as I described above. It’s a simple pouch tied with ribbon that can be filled with treats and small gifts as party favors for little ones or grown ups.

Next, I made a pouch that stands freely on its own. I did this by folding up the bottom corners and stitching them in place. I also added ribbon before I stitched the fabric together and folded down the top edge for a finished look. This bag can hold small trinkets or potpourri that you can tuck into a guest room or bathroom.

The final bag is a mini tote with ribbon straps. I also added a simple felt leaf embellishment that can be attached before the bag is stitched together or glued on after. It’s a great all purpose bag. Fill it with bath products instead of wrapping them with paper or add scented candles for a hostess gift or make your guests feel welcome and fill it with basic necessities and hang it on the guest room doorknob.

You can even tuck your favorite paperback inside to protect the cover and pages from wear and tear as you travel this season.

Whatever the occasion or need, this handmade re-usable bag is one the recipient is sure to appreciate. So pull out your sewing tools and give it a whirl!