Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Sew Many Gift Sacks!

So, I actually managed to whip up 14 gift sacks for Christmas!  I was not sure if I could be completed in time, but I paced myself and churned out several each day. I was very pleased with the result, as were the recipients.



I wanted to take photos of them in action -- all lined up in their glory and filled to the brim with goodies on Christmas day, but there was far too much excitement (as well as far too many little hands) about.  The task of capturing an image became impossible...my apologies in the delay of presentation.



The reason for the sacks? Well, traditional stocking just do not work in my family. We tried hanging stockings, but the weight of the contents would simply send them crashing to the floor from their hooks.  So, we opted to lay stockings out on the floor for to remedy this issue. The trouble with this was that the "goodies" rarely fit completely into the stockings, and once 1 or 2 folks deposited their gifts, they were already brimming over. So now we were faced with little piles of gifts scattered about. We eventually started to use paper Christmas gift bags to contain everything, but I wanted to create something a bit more unique, stylish and personal...hence the sacks!



Each bag took up less than a half metre of felt and fabric. The embellishments were laid out and stitched on before assembly. I opted for trees or poinsettias for the women, snowmen for the children, and mittens for the men (I even made it so that you can slip a gift card in the mittens).  Satin ribbon finished off the ladies sacks, while gromets and cotton string tied off the men's.



These were quite simple to make, just a rectangular shape with side and bottom gussets--like a paper shopping bag.  I added some sparkly snowflakes to each (which was just plastic confetti, secured with a bead in the centre). I opted to line each one with a complimenting fabric to add a bit more body to the finished product, as felt alone would stretch and lose shape under the wear and tear of heavy contents or the rough handling of little hands. Hey, after the effort put into these, I wanted to get at least a few years of holiday use.

I hope this inspires you to create your own. Happy sewing!

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