Saturday 19 November 2016

Gift Tags made from a Paper Shopping Bag and Fabric Scraps

I'm on a roll making Christmas Gift Tags. A few days ago I showed you my sewn gift tags. Today I have some more tags that have been whipped up on the sewing machine. Chances are you'll have everything you require on hand, if you'd like to make some.

Easy Christmas gift tags to make. Materials needed - paper bag and fabric scraps ~ Threading My Way


All you need is some thick paper or thin cardboard, plus a few fabric scraps.


Left over from a recently wrapped parcel, the bottom of a paper shopping bag was perfect for the tags.

  • Draw gift tag shapes on the paper. I traced around an old tag, but you can draw any shape.


  • Cut out the paper tags.


  • Draw the same tag shape onto scraps of fabric.
  • Cut out.


  • Place the fabric shape on top of the paper.
  • Hold together with clips.


  • Using either a long straight stitch, or a zig zag, machine stitch around the tag. I did half and half.


  • Punch a hole in the top of the tag. The hole punch I used successfully cut the paper, but not the fabric. Scissors finished the job.



I think I prefer the straight stitching, but I'm also happy with the zig zag. Yes, they'll fray, but that will just add to the charm.


Thanks to Kathy for commenting on my Handmade Christmas Tags, with the suggestion to do basting stitches. I increased the straight stitch length to 3.2, but they still do have the perforated look, which doesn't worry me at all, as it's only on the back, and I'm absolutely certain the recipients won't be examining them up close. Next time, however, I'm going to try a 4 or greater and see how I go. 


I definitely prefer the straight stitch on the back. 

There was a jeans needle in my machine, so that's what I used. If not, I would have swapped to a quilting needle or another sharp point needle. You may need to experiment with needle types, depending on your sewing machine and the paper weight. If it doesn't sound right, try a different needle.

Make sure you change the needle when you next sew with fabric, as the paper will blunt the needle quickly.

For more details on sewing with paper or card stock, check out my bunting card. There's lots of links to information on sewing cards with paper and card stock.

Easy Christmas Gift Tags... learn how to make with materials on hand ~ TUTORIAL Threading My Way
  • Add a ribbon, string, or long thin fabric scraps to the tags and you're ready to wrap some presents. I keep offcuts, sized and ready to be used as ribbons, in a little linen zippered pouch. When wrapping a gift, the bag full of scrappy ribbons is pulled out and I'm good to go.

Mr TMW looked puzzled when he saw me taking photographs. He wondered how I was going to write messages on the fabric, not realising the back was paper.


Easy Christmas Gift Tags DIY ~ TUTORIAL showing how to make them at  Threading My Way

Challenge #4 of the 12 Days of Christmas DIY Challenges...
Use an old cereal box (or another box), plus some supplies you find in your home, to make a Christmas card.

I'm counting my Christmas Tags as having met the challenge. Although the paper shopping bag is not a box, it's a paper/cardboard object that was made to contain something, just as a box is. And it's something I already had

Love you to add your cards that meet the challenge, to the Handmade Cards from Boxes link party.

I'll also be adding my tags to the Gift Wrapping link party here at Threading My Way, and to Ho Ho Ho and on We Sew when it opens on 18th.

How are you going with preparations for the festive season?

... Pam





I'd love you to share this post on social media
.

17 comments:

  1. Cute tags, and my Christmas prep is coming along nicely :) Today I finished up 2 kids wallets - I cut the same wallet out of 2 fabrics, then interchanged some of the pieces so each wallet is the reverse of the other :) I also gathered the fabric for the gift projects I still need to sew. My local fabric store is having a 50% off sale tomorrow so I wanted to see if there was anything I needed to pick up (I need felt for the puppets!). Still to make are a couple of Eunice bags and wallets, the hand puppets, a couple of finger puppets (with a drawstring bag to hold the set), some pillowcases ... I think that's about it, but I have a list downstairs beside my sewing machine so I can keep track of what needs doing and what has already been done :) I'm >< that close to being done Christmas sewing in November, for the first time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are great Pam, I am always running out of gift tags so I think I will whip up a few of these to have on hand.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These tags are A W E S O M E ! ! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

    ReplyDelete
  4. Even I could manage this one! They look fabulous and easy to do. A hand over stitch along the edge might even work too? I'm going to give it a go.

    Thank you for sharing on #Trash2Treasure

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a great idea, Pam! :) Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great idea for gift tags Pam! So easy but so pretty. Great way to use up fabric scraps too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. These tags are a great way to personalize gifts and use up scraps too! If just a name is added to the back, they could be used year after year for Christmas. I love the ribbon idea, too, made of fabric strips!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So cute and perfect for quick tags for gifts and so much better than bought tags

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great idea. I agree they are much nicer than shop bought.

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are just wonderful Pam, I love a quick christmas craft that also has a practical use.

    #HandmadeMonday

    Angela - Garden Tea Cakes and Me

    ReplyDelete
  11. I saw these on fb or instgram last week and thought what a great idea they were. We all have those little scraps that are too good to just throw away but really aren't big enough for much.
    I machine stitch on paper or card for card making sometimes and you are right, it does blunt the needle but it is a good way to use up and old one left over from the last few sewing projects - squeeze a little bit more life out of it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. They are beautiful Pam:) Great tip about changing the sewing machine needle, rather daftly I wouldn't have thought of that!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a fun little make. I did something like this a while back, and I found that starching the fabric well really made them easier to handle. I like both the zig zag stitching and the straight!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I love reading your comments and try to reply to all of them via email. If you don't receive an email reply from me, check back here.