Ruffled Holiday Bag

In this tutorial, I will show you how to make a ruffled holiday bag that is just about large enough to wrap a ball of yarn or a small stuffed toy.

One option is to print this fabric, one of the many amazing designs available at My Fabric Designs.com

The other option is to cut several pieces of fabric:

two strips of solid colored fabric measuring 2 inches by 17 inches

two strips of the "ruffle" fabric, measuring 5 inches by 14 inches

two strips of the "bag" fagric, measuring 8.5 inches by 14 inches

one circle for the base of the bag with a 4 inch diameter.

fold the 2 inch wide strips in half so they are now 1 inch wide, right sides facing and sew together.

Then turn right side out.

Sew a hem around the two short sides and the bottom of the ruffle. This will help keep it from fraying.

Place the shorter ruffle fabric right side up.

Align the top edge of the longer bag fabric with the top edge of the ruffle fabric, right side up.

Be sure the fabrics are centered. The bag fabric will be a bit longer than the ruffle at this point.

Sew together.

In order to close this bag, we need a place for the ribbon to sit.

Flip the ruffle fabric over so that it is now sitting above the bag fabric.

Measure about 1/2 inch from the top seam.

Pin and sew along this line.

If you prefer to use a thicker ribbon, be sure to adjust this measurement to accommodate

Pin the two pieces of bag + ruffle fabric together, right sides facing with the ruffle fabric in the middle.

Sew the two sides together leaving the top and the bottom open.

If you prefer an easier bag, you could also sew along the bottom seam at this point and the bag would be done.

For the round look of the sample at the beginning, leave the bottom of the bag open.

The circumference of the bottom of the "bag" fabric will be quite a bit larger than the four inch circle.

This is expected as the bottom will be wavy when we are finished.

To begin, pin one side of the circle to the center of one of the pieces of "bag" fabric

Next, pin the opposite edge of the base circle to the center of the opposite piece of "bag" fabric.

Finally, pin the two seams to the circle, opposite one another.

To get the bag to be even, take a needle and thread and work all the way around the bag. Notice that the "bag" fabric is stitched more loosely than the base fabric. I loaded several stitches on my needle to make it go faster.

The sewing machine didn't like this step, so I did it by hand. Obviously I'm not perfect, but as you can see, it really doesn't matter much, so take heart. If you aren't a seamstress you can still do this!

Sew all the way around the circle, keeping the same distance from the edge with your stitching. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect.

For this step, you can use the ribbon we made in step 2, or you can skip step 2 and use a different type of ribbon of your choice.

It is much easier to thread the ribbon if you first attach a safety pin to it and use the pin to thread it through the opening in the bag.

Tie a knot at each end of the ribbon to prevent it from slipping through the bag.

You could also tie a large bead to the end for added fun.

Here is a view of what the bottom of the bag will look like when using the circle.

After placing gift inside the bag, (there is a ball of yarn in this one), tie a knot on both sides using the ribbon.

Be sure to pull it tight, but hold the opposite side of the ribbon so you don't pull it all the way through.