By Lesley Foster

Instead of putting my gifts into paper gift bags this year I’ve decided to do something a bit different and make some fabric ones. What I like about these is that PICTURE 1 they also act as an extra part to the gift as they can be reused by the recipient. These will also make sure your presents stand out from the other gift bags around the tree. PICTURE 2

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Pins Scissors Thread Paper for the patchwork pattern Buttons Needle The Craft Cotton Company North Star Fat Quarters Ribbon (tip - you can use the one that came with the Fat Quarter bundle!)

Take the Fat Quarter that you would like to use for the main bag, fold it in half and cut off the bottom part making it 35 cm long. Place the fabric right sides together, and starting 6cm down from the top of the bag, sew down the side seam and then along the bottom. Turn the right way around. Next, with the side seam to the left, and starting on the back piece of the bag, fold in the top edge by 1cm, and then fold over the side edge seam fabric so no raw edges are left at the sides (repeat this process on the front piece). Now fold over the top edge again, this time folding it in half so it touches where you have already started to sew down the side of the bag. Fold the rest of the top edge in this same way, folding it over 1cm then in half. Pin as you go, then sew along the bottom edge of this folded section to fix in place. PICTURE 3

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Thread your ribbon through the top of the bag - I used the ribbon that came with the Fat Quarters. Fold over the raw edge at the end of the ribbon a few times and sew to hide the raw edge. Repeat for other end.

Draw a circle with a diameter approximately 6cm in size - I drew around the bottom of a round tub. Split the circle into 8 Sections and draw a point 0.5cm out from the edge of the circle in the centre of each section. Draw a line from each of these points to each section line to create the pointed edges around the circle. Cut out two of these whole templates and split them both into sections, this will give you two sets of template pieces one set for the front and the other for the back. PICTURE 6

Choosing different colours from the Fat Quarter set, cut out fabric for each of the pattern pieces, ensuring you leave 0.5 cm of fabric around the template. Now tack the fabric around the template, folding the fabric back over the edge of the paper template. Make sure you put a number on the templates so you know where each piece goes for sewing together. Sew the templates together by placing the pieces right sides together and slip stitching down the seam. PICTURE 7

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Now, to make the backing piece for the Dresden, take your second set of template pieces and repeat the above process but instead of using different coloured fabric for each price, us the same fabric for each piece. Place both completed sides right sides together and slip stitch around the edges, leaving a gap - I left one point section unsewn. Remove the paper template pieces, turn the right way, and slip stitch the gap closed. PICTURE 12

Take your button, and sew into the centre of the Dresden. Pin your Dresden on to the bag and sew into place. Take some buttons and randomly place and sew onto the bag. PICTURE 13

Copyright © Lesley Foster For The Craft Cotton Company 2015