Sewing instructions for gift bags made from SnapPap

Sewing instructions for gift bags made from SnapPap

What would Christmas be without gifts? Beautifully wrapped gifts always make eyes light up! But then we are brought back down to earth when we look at the huge mountain of wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. What do you think of sustainable packaging that can be reused after unwrapping? Gifts without waste – this can become a reality with home-sewn SnapPap bags! In this post, I will show you how to sew these bags. They are very quick to sew. They have to be, as we have already reached the penultimate window of the Advent Calendar on the BERNINA Blog!

Gift bag materials

Everything you need for this project:

• SnapPap 
• Sewing thread 
• Scissors
• Ribbons, lace, materials for decorating, and anything else that comes to mind.

There are no limits to your creativity.

Sewing gift bags

Using a patchwork ruler and a pencil, draw your bag in the desired size onto the back of the SnapPap. To do this, you will need the height, width, and depth of the bag. A semi-circular flap will be added at the top (if you do not have a compass, you can use a plate as a template). 

On the sides, draw the wings. The width of the wings is the desired depth of the bag divided by 2 + the seam allowance (0.5 to 1 cm, depending on how wide your seam is). My bag is going to be 5 cm deep, so the wings are 3 cm wide. 

Turn the wings inwards.

Secure the wings to each side using the fabric clips. The SnapPap is thus arranged wrong side to wrong side.

Check out which decorative stitches your machine has and choose your favorites.

I am sewing with the BERNINA 480 (the “Peacock Flourish” special model from 2020).

BERNINA 480

The B 480 is made for all sewers and hobby tailors who love beautiful design but also sophisticated automatic features. A brilliantly simple machine.

Learn more

A tip from me: if your seam is too wide, you won’t be able to fold the wings inwards later. But that shouldn’t be a problem, it will still look really nice. 

Once both sides have been sewn in place, you can shape the bag.

Secure the corners in place with a clip.

Sew them in place using a straight stitch.

And cut them off.

Now fold the flap down and fix it in place with the clips. Using pliers, make 2 holes through all 3 layers of the SnapPap.

Decorating the gift bags 

Thread a ribbon through the holes and tie it into a bow.

Now you need to unleash your imagination. A hot glue gun can be used to attach glitter stars or beads.

You can also decorate the bag with a lace trim. However, you have to do this before sewing.

To do so, stick a piece of Wonder Tape at the desired location.

This secures the lace trim so that it does not slip during sewing. 

Sew on the lace. Fold over the open edges as you sew. 

You can now decorate the bag as you like.

If you prefer a simple design, you can take classic SnapPap and tie it with parcel twine.

I hope you enjoy sewing, wrapping, and giving your gifts!