Using a lunch bag to make your gift bag:

To make a shirt and tie bag, use a bag that is longer and thinner, like a lunch bag. Fill the bag with the gift before making the shirt.…and leave about 2 1/2″ from the top empty, so you can fold it down.

Once the bag is filled, fold the top over with about a 1″ fold, and then fold it again so you have two folds. Then put some glue under your folds so they stay in place. Then cut under the fold on either side about 1/3rd of the way toward the middle. In my case, I cut about 1 1/4″ in from both sides on my lunch bag. Fold the sides where you just cut, down on a 45 degree angle, so they look like a collar for the shirt. I glued my collar down at this point, but you are better off waiting until you’ve put your tie and collar buttons in place (if you use collar buttons, ie brads.)

Tie:

I used a scrap of paper and drew a tie by drawing two diagonal lines that go from wide to narrow and are about 1/2″ long and then draw long diagonal lines that start narrow and go wider and are maybe 2″ long, then draw diagonal lines that are wide and meet in the center to make the bottom of the tie and are 1/2″ long. These measurements are just for guides, and it’s easier if you just draw your tie on the back of the paper you’re using and then cut it out and then trim it until you like it. You might want to make your tie longer if your bag is larger or make the tie smaller if your bag is smaller. I poked holes near the ends of my collar and put small brads through them to look like buttons and then glued the tie into the center under the collar and then glue down the collar tabs so they stay in place.

Making the bag from paper: I recommend you using a very light weight paper….very thin scrapbook paper, newspaper, a map, or gift wrap, as it becomes really hard to fold the “collar” once you’ve folded the paper twice.

I used retired Stampin’ Up 12 x 12″ paper and using two sheets, scored them both at 1/2″, 4 1/2″, and 11 1/2″ (I always turn the paper over to make the 11 1/2″ score, as I’m left handed and it’s easier to score it at 1/2″).. Use the 11 1/2″ score and put tear tape up to the score line the whole length of the paper. Then lay the other piece of paper up to the 1/2″ score line over the tear tape. I always put a little wet glue on my tear taped area so it’s easy to remove the papers if I make a mistake in laying them down. The papers should be laying so the score lines from left to right are 1/2″, 4 1/2″, and 11 1/2″. You want the two pieces of paper perfectly lined up across the bottom and top before you press them in place. Then fold the last 11 1/2″ score line over on itself and put glue on it and then take the left paper and fold it onto the right side paper, so the score lines lay on top of each other and it creates a box shape..

To make the bottom of the bag, score 2 1/2″ from the bottom. (If your paper has a directional pattern, make sure the pattern faces the right side of your score board when you’re scoring it.) Cut each corner up to the 2 1/2″ score and cut out a thin sliver on each corner up to the score. Then fold all four sides and burnish. Fold in one long side, put glue on both short ends and fold them onto the long side, then put glue on the last side, and fold it onto the short ends, making sure you rub the inside to ensure it’s well adhered to itself.

Your bag isn’t going to hold anything super heavy, but if you feel like you want it to hold more, add a layer of chipboard/cardboard in the bottom and glue it in for stability. Now that the bag is made, take the side and pinch the tops into the center so it has an indented center. Do the same to the other side. Then fill the bag…. Fold the top down 1″ and then fold it again, another 1″ and make sure you use your bone folder so your folds are as flat as possible. Add wet glue to hold the folds in place. Cut below your folds from the edges 2 1/4″ toward the center on both sides and then fold these pieces on a 45 degree angle to create the collar. You can add brads to hold the collar ends down or you can glue small buttons on the ends of the collar for decoration. Then following the instructions above on how to draw the tie. Draw and cut out your tie and glue it into the center of the collar and your bag is done.

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