The holidays are near and it's time to start preparing all the little things that make this time of year so special. We've begun to think about creating magical moments and sharing meaningful gifts with loved ones. Wrapping a favorite book in a beautiful play silk, or creating bespoke name tags with tiny treasures and toys. Today our friend Satu from Me + Kiddo Patterns is sharing the sweetest House Pocket Gift Bags. Attach them to your gift wrap, tuck a few treats into them to hang on your neighbors doors, or make a whole advent calendar filled with activity ideas to last all season long!
Gather Your Materials
- Upcycled or scrap fabric
- Needle and thread or sewing machine
- Cardstock
- Ruler
- Pencil
Not much is needed to create these little pockets of joy! Use upcycled cotton clothing, sheets or leftovers from other sewing projects. You can use a patterned fabric or create a hand stitched design on a plain color. The customization possibilities are endless!
Cut & Sew Your Gift Bags
Start by creating a simple paper pattern with a stiff cardstock paper. Use a Ruler to draw 2 panels, 1 with the peaked roof and 1 rectangle. For this sample the house rectangle measures 3.5" x 4" with an additional 2 inches to create the roof, making it a total of 3.5" x 6".
To create the pocket rectangle you will use the size of your base rectangle and double it's height. For this example it will measure 3.5" x 8".
If you wish, you can add a loop for hanging. In this example Suki used a 4" x 1.2" strip of fabric. You could also use a ready made ribbon.
To make the loop, fold the long edge of the loop piece towards the middle, wrong sides together, and iron. Unfold. Fold the long raw edge to meet the center fold, wrong sides together, and press again. Refold the center crease and top stitch along the edge.
Lay one house piece right side up, and add the rectangular pocket piece on top of it. Make sure it is folded in half with the pattern side out and the folded edge lined up where the top of your pocket will be.
Add the second house piece pattern side down. Now you have a little house sandwich! Fold the loop in half and pin it to the top of your house.
Sew along the edges with a 0.2" seam allowance. Leave a little opening on the other side of one roof.
Carefully pull the fabric through the remaining hole and iron it flat. Make sure that the corners and the peak of the roof is nice and neat.
Use a straight stitch to close the opening, or for a more invisible closure, use a ladder stitch. You did it! Now you can customize your pattern and make these houses in any size you wish with this technique. You can create a cute advent calendar garland, use it as a gift tag on presents -you name it.
We can't wait to sew up a ton of tiny holiday house gift bags! Many thanks to Satu for sharing her work with us today. Satu is a Finnish mother who studied fashion design and pattern making. She began her own pattern company two years ago and shares beautiful clothing, dolls and toy patterns on her Etsy. Explore more of her work here!
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