Having been heavily influenced by this great idea on Tiny Happy's blog, I had a go at making a couple of simple drawstring gift bags, using a partly-embroidered piece of vintage linen which had been given to me by my lovely next-door neighbour. An unmarked part of the tablecloth had already been used to make a special Christmas present so I was really pleased to be able to use up these portions too.
I simply cut as big a bag as I could from the bits of embroidered cloth that I had, sewed the sides together (using French seams as this linen was rather prone to fraying) made a channel to thread the cord through at the top and added a couple of vintage buttons at the end of the cord - just for a bit of added interest. The bigger bag ended up approx. 11 inches square and the smaller one approx. 10 inches square.
I must say I'm rather delighted with how these have turned out and I'm now eyeing up my stash of vintage and slightly-damaged-in-places-so-not-much-good-for-anything-else fabric with the idea of making quite a few more.
I've linked this post at Apron Thrift Girl's Wednesday Make Share.
Very Nice... I would love receiving a gift in one of these...
Posted by: Andrea | 12/15/2010 at 04:53 PM
Thank you for sharing your beautiful bags on Apron Thrift Girl. I can't wait to dig into my huge pile of old linens!!
Posted by: Malinda | 12/15/2010 at 04:56 PM
Lovely idea and so nice that someone's beautiful embroidery will be enjoyed. :-)
Posted by: Into Vintage | 12/15/2010 at 04:58 PM
Thats a good way to use up those scraps of fabric you have lying around (I've got a big box too). I really like the buttons on the end of the draw cords
Posted by: sharie | 12/15/2010 at 05:59 PM
Very cute, you are really talented.
Posted by: cindy | 12/15/2010 at 07:20 PM
how beautiful it turned out, I would never have thought of this.
Posted by: angela | 12/15/2010 at 07:29 PM
What a great idea! I have a huge box of old linens that I've been saving for a good project. :)
Posted by: Reneesance | 12/15/2010 at 07:45 PM
That's a fantastic idea, and they can be used again and again. Much better than using wrapping paper once and throwing it away.
Posted by: ilona | 12/15/2010 at 09:25 PM
Really pretty, I love the colors.
Posted by: Shara | 12/15/2010 at 10:34 PM
Lovely!
Posted by: Maureen | 12/16/2010 at 03:48 AM
Cute
Posted by: Mosha | 12/16/2010 at 05:23 AM
Your handmade gift bag is awesome! That is a perfect gift for Christmas. I am a big fan of handmade products and I have my own website. Actually, if you can make more of this you can actually sell them, a lot of people are looking for gifts like this especially the holiday season. If you want you can visit my site and go list your handmade products :)
Posted by: Nic Jones | 12/16/2010 at 12:23 PM
these are really lovely- so simple and understated!
happy Christmas!
Posted by: Naomi | 12/17/2010 at 05:55 PM
They are really lovely! I especially liked the buttons!
Posted by: Rose | 12/18/2010 at 09:32 PM
Ooh, so, so pretty!
Posted by: Shoestring | 12/22/2010 at 05:59 PM
Those are really cute! I could just see my jewelery in the red flower one :)!
I love the buttons idea too.
Posted by: Annabel | 01/19/2011 at 08:44 AM