How to make a wine bottle gift bag

Or, how I fought the piping, and the piping won.

Wine gift bag
Wine gift bag
You know when you have those sewing days when you know you should just give up and try again later? Well, this post didn’t go exactly as planned. I initially planned to use the piping from the piping tutorial I did last weekend.

But, you know, sometimes things just don’t work out. I broke three needles and knocked over my box of carefully organized quilting blocks, so they all got mixed up. That knocked out my power strip and turned off my lights and sewing machine. I knocked my thread/scrap bin onto the floor, which had the broken needles tossed into it.

And I had to undo part of my original bag, redo it and then eventually throw it in the trash. But not before I tried to convince myself that I could finish the project and photograph it from just the right angles as to trick you, dear readers, into thinking I had had success. But, alas, such trickery and dishonesty was not for me. I started over, sans piping.

Supplies

(Click fabrics for direct links for purchase at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.)

Piping tutorial,fabric
Spiro Dots Chocolate (SPSCHL)

fabric
Neopolitan Stellar Blue (NENSTL)
Outer fabric: 1/2 yard

Lining fabric: 1/2 yard

Interfacing: 1/2 yard (I used Peltex, which is really, really stiff and thick. It makes sewing tough, but it makes a nice, stiff bag. If you don’t want to go through the trouble, feel free to use a regular, stiff interfacing like Craft Fuse. You could also use thin batting for body. REGARDLESS, for the handle, use Craft Fuse or something thinner. It will be too thick to fold otherwise.)

Ribbon: 1 yard

This pattern is simple enough that I could give you dimensions and you could measure it out yourself, but I scanned it in so you could print it from a pdf file. Problem is, one piece is longer than a piece of computer paper, so I had to lop it off and put part of it next to the pattern piece. Attach those two pieces by simply taping them together. NOTE: I did not leave you any overlap, so just tape it end to end.

Wine bag pattern pieces PDF

There are three pattern pieces:
Wine Bag Side: 11-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ (cut 4 fabric, 4 lining, 4 interfacing)
Wine Bag Strap: 3-1/2″ x 10-1/2″ (cut 1 fabric, 1 interfacing)
Wine Bag Bottom: 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ (cut 1 fabric, 1 lining, 2 interfacing)

NOTE: 3/8″ seam allowances except where noted.

The process

(click for bigger images)

Cut out your pattern pieces and fabric (download pattern pieces above).

The pattern pieces
The pattern pieces
There are three pattern pieces, all basic shapes. You can click the picture for a better view.

The pieces can be downloaded by PDF file (link above) or you can simply draw them out by dimension, also listed above.

Pattern pieces, fabric and lining
Pattern pieces, fabric and lining
I have cut four each of the side pieces for the outer fabric and the lining and the interfacing. I have cut one handle piece (I chose to use the lining fabric to spice things up. I’m wild like that) and one handle interfacing (no heavier than Craft Fuse).

I have cut one bottom each from the main fabric and lining fabric, and two from the interfacing (heavier the better)

Applying the interfacing
Applying the interfacing
Apply your interfacing. I used a nonfusible, so I used quilt-basting spray to fuse it to my fabric pieces. It’s kind of stinky, so I went outside. Quilt-basting spray allows you to pull off and reposition as needed.

Side pieces and bottom with interfacing
Side pieces and bottom with interfacing
As you can see, I decided to trim up my interfacing pieces because my interfacing is really, really stiff and it will make very bulky seams.

Four sides seams sewn
Four sides seams sewn
Sew the outer fabric side pieces together, forming a rectangle.

Sewing the bottom
Sewing the bottom
Sewing the bottom on is sort of tricky. It’s just a matter of making sure the edges line up as you go.

It’s small and has lots of corners, so it’s kind of a pain, but go slow and you can do it.

At this point, you’ll be glad you trimmed back the interfacing if you used the Peltex like I did.

bottom view, after sewing
bottom view, after sewing
Here is a bottom view after it’s been sewn on. You might want to clip the corners now. Turn the bag right side out and push out the corners.

lining sewn, with hole for turning
lining sewn, with hole for turning
Sew the side pieces of the lining together like you did for the outside of the bag, but make sure to leave a part of one of the seams open.

If you look closely at the picture to the left, along the top I have inserted two pins. I will sew on the outside of those pins, but leave the area between them open.

Making the strap
Making the strap
Now we’ll make the strap. Take your interfaced strap piece and fold it in half, wrong sides together. Press a crease in. I have drawn my crease on with fabric marker so you could see it.
See those arrows? We’ll be folding the outer edges of the strap in to meet at the center crease.

Still making the strap ...
(I like nonturn straps!!)
See what I mean? Now press again.

Strap, ready to sew
Strap, ready to sew
Fold on that first, center crease so that the raw edges are encased. Pin and sew a scant 1/4″ from the edge. If you want to make it look even more polished, topstitch 1/4″ from the folded edge, too.

Sewing the strap to the bag
Sewing the strap to the bag
Sew your strap to the top of the outer piece of the bag. You want to be able to depend on these straps so you don’t have a broken wine bottle on the ground, so sew back and forth several times.

Do this within the seam allowance so you don’t see it later. This bag is small, so it’s pretty tight. As you can see, I removed the bed of my machine to allow the bag to fit better.

Straps tacked on
Straps tacked on
Strap is applied. It should be hanging down, right now.

Attach ribbon for tie
Attach ribbon for tie
Attach a pretty ribbon for decoration and closure. I used 1 yard and cut it in half. Then I sewed it to the seam allowance on opposite sides from the strap.
It, too, should hang downward for now.

Sew outside, lining together
Sew outside, lining together
Now it’s time to sew the lining and the outer bag together. You’re doing things backwards here. Your outer bag should be right-side out. Your lining should be wrong-side out.

Insert the outer bag inside the lining, so right sides are together. The ribbon and strap should be stuffed down in between the two, too.

Outside inserted into lining, ready to sew
Outside inserted into lining, ready to sew
Pin along the top, lining up the side seams.
Sew along the top edge. You might want to go a little more than the 3/8″ I instructed for the rest of the seams. I went about 1/2″.

Hole in lining for turning
Hole in lining for turning
Now that slit you left in the lining is coming in real handy, isn’t it? Just pull your bag right-side out through it.

Closing up the lining hole
Closing up the lining hole
Before you stuff the lining in, you’ll want to close up that hole. I pin it together and sew with the machine from the visible side. If you’re a perfectionist, you can sew it by hand to make it invisible.

Trust me, nobody will notice if you do it the fast way.

Everything turned right-side out
Everything turned right-side out
Stuff the lining into the bag and try to neaten everything up as best you can. Get the top seam flattened out and pin the lining in place. It may help to press at this point.

Topstitch around top edge
Topstitch around top edge
Topstitch around the top of the bag, making sure your strap and ribbon are pointing up and away from the bag. You’re finished! Tell your recipient to pass it on to someone else. It’s durable and washable.