Easy Stand Up Christmas Gift Bag
This Christmas season, I would love to have as many reusable fabric gift bags as I can make. I’ve found so much cool fabric this summer at estate and yard sales, so it is a cost-efficient way to create something fun. I can just sew from my stash and create some fun gift bags. These easy stand-up Christmas gift bags only take about 30 minutes from start to finish and are easy enough for me – so I know you can create them too!
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Easy Stand Up Christmas Gift Bag
I found this large piece of two-sided pre-quilted Christmas fabric at an estate sale. From what I can tell from some basic research online, this fabric is probably from the 1990’s. To most of us, that’s not very old, but from the perspective of 2026, this fabric has been waiting to be turned into something special for over 30 years. That’s what I really love about shopping at estate sales and yard sales – the chance to rescue something like this and give it a new life.
Because this fabric was prequilted, I didn’t need to create a liner. I simply laid it out, notched the inside space for the corners, and ironed the top folds.
I’m planning to use this bag for family gift exchanges so I decided to keep the handles super simple. I used a zigzag stitch along the edges, then tucked them under the folded top edges.
Are they perfect? Nope! But they were fast, and I’ll improve on the next bag!
You can follow this video for step-by-step directions on how to make this easy tote bag. * You’ll notice that this video did not use the boxy corners, but since I know how to do those, I added them for some stability and structure.
Another fun thing I’m getting to use on these projects is reclaimed thread. I found several stashes of vintage thread at yard sales this summer, so I’m just using up all the old spools one at a time.
Something that I’m finding is that I love the process of finding the old fabric, zippers, and sewing notions, but I also enjoy learning to sew these new projects. It’s really a relaxing way to spend time over the weekend and just brings me a deep satisfaction.
And because the fabric was already quilted with a contrasting design, the inside is as cute and festive as the outside!
Didn’t it turn out cute? I’ve got enough fabric left that I am planning to make a few more this weekend!
