We all know very well that good things don't always come in small packages. They can be small, medium or large... and still be quite wonderful. That's why we made our super cute gift bags in three sizes. It also allows you to sort out your holiday list into those who've been Good, Very Good and Great. We've blended three amazing collections from FreeSpirit Fabrics to come up with six different two-tone bags: Super Fly from Jennifer Paganelli, Kumari Garden Holiday from Dena Designs and Star Flakes and Glitter from Tina Givens. 

A big thanks to FreeSpirit Fabrics for sponsoring today's Re-imagine & Renovate project and providing the fabric. Here are the pairings for each bag in both sets:

Set #1 - Small (finishes at 5" wide x 7" high x 2" deep): The top and handle are Kumari Garden Tanaya in Green by Dena Designs; the bottom is Kumari Garden Sashi in Ice by Dena Designs; the accents are butter yellow rick rack and an ⅛" butter yellow ribbon tie closure.

Set #1 - Medium (finishes at 6" wide x 8" high x 2" deep): The top and handle are Kumari Garden Tara in Green by Dena Designs; the bottom is Super Fly Lauralee in Mustard by Jennifer Paganelli; the accents are butter yellow rick rack and an ⅛" butter yellow ribbon tie closure. 

Set #1 - Large (finishes at 8" wide x 10" high x 3" deep): The top and handle are Kumari Garden Tara in Red by Dena Designs; the bottom is Super Fly Jane in Mustard by Jennifer Paganelli; the accents are butter yellow rick rack and an ⅛" butter yellow ribbon tie closure.

Set #2 - Small (finishes at 5" wide x 7" high x 2" deep): The top and handle are Star Flakes and Glitter Candlelabrum in Green by Tina Givens; the bottom is Star Flakes and Glitter Poinsettia Run in Chocolate by Tina Givens; the accents are chartreuse rick rack and an ⅛" chartreuse ribbon tie closure.

Set #2 - Medium (finishes at 6" wide x 8" high x 2" deep): The top and handle are Star Flakes and Glitter Poinsettia Snowflakes in Red by Tina Givens; the bottom is Star Flakes and Glitter Pagent in Red by Tina Givens; the accents are chartreuse rick rack and an ⅛" chartreuse ribbon tie closure.

Set #2 - Large (finishes at 8" wide x 10" high x 3" deep): The top and handle are Star Flakes and Glitter Poinsettia Snowflakes in Ivory by Tina Givens; the bottom is Star Flakes and Glitter Doily in Ivory by Tina Givens; the accents are chartreuse rick rack and an ⅛" chartreuse ribbon tie closure.

Jennifer Pagnelli's Super Fly and Tina Givens' Star Flakes and Glitter were both June 2012 collections, and Kumari Garden Holiday is actually a 2011 collection. You can check your favorite fabric source to find out if they still have yardage in stock or can get it for you. Be sure to look at our Marketplace for our fave sources; we found some cuts still available at Fabric.com for Kumari Garden Holiday, as well as Star Flakes and Glitter and Super Fly. You can also try Googling the fabric name along with the designer's name or the design house, for example: "Star Flakes and Glitter" and "Free Spirit Fabrics." Small cuts from older collections can also sometimes be found from individual sellers on Etsy or eBay. As we always mention when it comes to finding fabric, if you love a fabric, get it while you can. Because, like fashionable apparel, popular fabrics come and go; at some point, even the most amazing fabrics are no longer in stores or online.

To allow the bags to stand up nicely on their own, we recommend Pellon Decor Bond as the interfacing.

All our pieces are carefully fussy cut to make the best use of all these beautiful motifs. If you are new to this technique, check out our step-by-step tutorial on How To Fussy Cut. 

To Re-imagine & Renovate your own Holiday Gift Bags, go to the original tutorial:

Quick & Cool holiday Gift: Two-Tone Gift Bags in 3 Sizes

We made the following slight changes to the original construction:

1. The rick rack is basted to the upper edge of the gift bag bottom, stitching down the center of the rick rack. This creates a line of stitching visible on the wrong side of the fabric, so when the bottom is joined to the gift bag top, your new seam line can simply follow the previous line of stitching and it will be perfectly centered on the rick rack.
2. The instructions for the handle in the original bags is done in such a way that the interfacing is only on one side of the seam. This time, we evenly interfaced the handle, pressing under the edges ½" on each long side, then matching the folded edges. To complete the handle, simply edgestitch along each side. No turning is necessary, which is nice because the heavier interfacing can make turning a bit of a bear on a narrow strip like this one. 
3. We used a single line of edgestitching around the top to finish rather than a double. It matches the single lilke of edgestitching on the handle, and everything is still quite secure.
   
    

Hints and Tips

Looking for more information on blending, mixing and matching your fabrics? Check out these tutorials:

How to Mix & Match Designer Fabric Collections

How to Create A Fabric Palette

Tips for Mixing Prints

Mixing & Matching Colors, Patterns & Textures

Making the Right Fabric Choice

Contributors

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation: Michele Mishler