brown paper packages: a quick and dirty gift wrapping tutorial

Posted on 23. Dec, 2011 by Princess Lasertron in craft, projects

An interview on Marketplace yesterday talked about how going over the top with your gift wrapping raises expectations about the gift inside. A Yale University study about how the wrapping of gifts influences the reactions of recipients showed that less is more when it comes to gift wrapping, and that the receivers of presents presented more simply were happier than those who got the same gift in more fancy packaging.

Brown kraft paper is my signature gift wrap–I use it for birthdays, for my Make it Pretty Monthly club (join! join!), and of course for Christmas! I think the message of Yale’s study about brown paper packages is completely true–give a great gift in a humble package. Being me, though, I still have to elevate the prettiness of the wrapping from the expected. Here’s how I make my brown paper gift bags in the same amount of time it takes to wrap a box:

Materials needed

♥ A roll of brown kraft paper–you can find this stuff in the mailing supply section of any big-box store. My 15-foot roll of paper was less than $3.
♥ A sewing machine
♥ Scissors

Step 1: Cut out a big rectangle of kraft paper. My standard size is about 30” x 15”, or the width of the roll by about half that length. As you make these and start wrapping gifts up, you will figure out which other sizes you need. I don’t measure, I just eyeball it. You just need lots of big rectangles of paper.

Step 2: Fold the paper in half loosely–don’t crease it at all–and sew the edge opposite the fold with a simple straight stitch. Long stitches are good. Just run it through the machine.

Step 3: Now you have a roll of paper with a sewn seam. Position the seam in the center and flatten the roll of paper into a rectangle, centering the seam. Fold up the bottom edge one inch, and one inch again. Sew that edge shut.

Step 4: Now you have a bag! Put a gift inside and sew the top closed.

Tips and Tricks:

♥ I like to cut up a roll of paper in one sitting into rectangles of various sizes and sew all of the bags assembly-line style. It’s just a little cutting and sewing two seams per bag over and over, and you’ll save a ton of time.
♥ These sewn packages are SO fun to open. Consider leaving a tail of thread on the top seam that the recipient can rip open!
♥ It’s easy to get creative when you start with a brown paper package. Tie twine or cord around the center.
♥ Let your kids draw on the packages or cover them in stickers.
♥ Create another thick paper band to go around the middle where you can slip in a card.
♥ Upload finished pictures of your embroidery projects to Princess Lasertron’s Flickr stream, Make it Pretty!

xo
meg

Tags: diy, gifts, packages, tutorial, wrapping