A well-made gift bag makes even the most mundane present special. Not only are they impressive and easy, but you'll also save wrapping paper -- think how happy you'll be to send less to the landfill! It's the perfect way to use up scraps of fabric, and you can be as elaborate or as plain as you choose. Even bags made of the plainest chambrays look so pretty.

We're trying not to use any gift wrap this year, and instead are making our own gift bags. They're quick and fun, and we try to always have at least one in progress, cutting the pieces whenever we have an appropriately-sized scrap, and sewing them as we get 5-10 minutes at our machines.

This is Kwik-Sew 3031, and the pattern manufacturer suggests cotton, cotton types, velvet, organza, metallic fabrics, silk, taffeta or satin. We've found that almost every woven fabric works well. Our trims are very useful with these patterns -- use lace to decorate the gift bags, cloth tape as drawstrings, etc.

	View A
	Bag is flat, has ribbon ties in casing, and optional trim or fringe at the bottom edge. Pattern includes four sizes in the following finished sizes:
	XS - 3" x  4 1/4" (7 cm x 11 cm)
	S - 5" x  6 1/2" (12 cm x 17 cm)
	M - 7" x  9" (18 cm x 23 cm)
	L - 9" x  11" (23 cm x 28 cm)
	Material Required: Piece of Fabric
	XS - 8" x  7" (21 cm x 18 cm)
	S - 12" x  9" (31 cm x 23 cm)
	M - 16" x  12" (41 cm x 31 cm)
	L - 20" x  15" (51 cm x 38 cm)
	Notions:
	Thread, 1/8" -  3/8" (2 mm - 10 mm) wide ribbon - 1 yd (0.95 cm) for sizes XS - S; 1 1/2 yd (1.40 m) for sizes M - L, optional trim at bottom of bag; XS - 4" (10 cm), S - 6" (15 cm), M - 8" (20 cm), L - 10" (26 cm).
	View B
	Bag is lined and has self fabric handles. Pattern includes four sizes in the following finished sizes:
	XS - 4" x  5 1/2" (10 cm x 14 cm)
	S - 6" x  7 1/2" (15 cm x 19 cm)
	M - 9" x  11" (23 cm x 28 cm)
	L - 12" x  14 1/2" (30 cm x 37 cm)
	Material Required: Piece of Fabric and Lining
	XS - 20" x  8" (51 cm x 20 cm)
	S - 24" x  10" (61 cm x 26 cm)
	M - 32" x  14" (82 cm x 36 cm)
	L - 40" x  18" (102 cm x 46 cm)
	Notions: Thread.
	View C
	Bag has a 3 1/2" (9 cm) square bottom and ties with a ribbon at top edge, pattern includes two heights. Short is 9 1/2" (24 cm), Tall is 14 1/2" (37 cm).
	Material Required: Piece of Fabric
	Short - 16" x  13" (40 cm x 33 cm)
	Tall - 16" x  18" (40 cm x 45 cm)
	Notions: Thread, 1 yd (0.95 m) of ribbon.
	View D
	Bag has a 5" (12 cm) square bottom and ties with a ribbon at top edge, pattern includes two heights. Short is 10 1/2" (27 cm), Tall is 15 1/2" (39 cm).
	Material Required: Piece of Fabric
	Short - 21" x  15" (53 cm x 37 cm)
	Tall - 21" x  20" (53 cm x 50 cm)
	Notions: Thread, 1 yd (0.95 m) of ribbon.