Origami Gift Bag

I made this video tutorial of how to make an origami* bag a couple of years ago. It's a very simple process but the result is a great looking gift bag.

I have used this design myself many times. You can make bigger bags by cutting a large square out of pretty wrapping paper. One Christmas I even made them out of newspaper and added string handles which was a surprisingly effective look.

The other good thing about this design is that you can fold them flat. So if you feel like making a few bags at a time, you can easily store them away until you need one without them getting crushed.

So far this has been my one and only YouTube video. But who knows, maybe I'll be inspired to make a few more!


* to make this bag extra sturdy I use a tiny bit of sellotape or glue. Some origami purists would argue it therefore isn't origami (I diagree!)

Primark pants -> a My Little Pony pal

Say what you want about Primark, but they do great pants.

While rummaging in the jumble sale that is Primark's underwear department I found this pair of My Little Pony knickers. In fact, I decided they were so awesome that they'd make a great starting point for a new craft project.

So here is how to turn a pair of pants into a little pal of your own...

1. Find some awesome character pants! You could also use characters on old kids clothes or as part of a pattern on a cartoon duvet cover. Charity shops are great for this.

2. Roughly cut out your cute character leaving a small outline around the edge.

3. Cut a piece of fabric for the back. The bum of the My Little Pony knickers were equally awesome (see below!) so my choice of fabric was a no brainer. You could use any colour fabric though, as long as it's the same stretch and thickness (a pair of plain Primark pants?)

3. Pin the front and back pieces together. They should be pinned together with both patterns facing each other.

Check out that pony pattern!

4. SEWING TIME. I'm a terrible sewer. Luckily it doesn't matter how basic your hand sewing skills are because most of the stitches won't be very visible - you are sewing your new pal inside out. The outline of the pony was visible, even when back to front, so I just used that outline as my guide and cut around it as I went, as close to the stitches as possible. This is probably a really backwards way of doing it but hey, it worked for me! Remember to leave an opening for your pal's stuffing.

Pony in progress

5.  Using the opening, carefully turn it the right way out. You should now be able to see the desired shape of your new pal. Check the opening is going to be big enough for you to get the stuffing in to shape your pony. It's best to use an edge that will be easy to sew up when you're done (I used the top of pony's head).

6. WADDING TIME. Buying proper stuffing for soft toys is expensive. Instead, I used the wadding from an over-stuffed cushion (you can buy cushion inserts very cheaply from fabric shops, or just find an old cushion in a charity shop). Cut a small hole at the edge of the cushion insert and take out as much stuffing as you need. If you make something similar again you will have a ready made supply of stuffing - a tiny bit goes a long way, especially in a project as small as this. Alternatively you could sew the cushion insert back up and continue using it for it's original purpose!

7. Once you've stuffed and shaped your new toy as much as you want, carefully sew up the opening and tadaaa, you have a My Little Pony pal of your own!

Now all that's left to do is to decide what to do with your new toy. Attach a ribbon loop to hang on a door handle or noticeboard? Put a safety pin on the back to use as a brooch? Pin cushion? Cat toy? Pocket travel companion?

Tell me what you think!