How to make gift bags from old books
If you're looking to add a personal touch to gift-giving, making gift bags from old books is a charming and creative idea that will surely impress your loved ones. By upcycling old books into unique gift bags, not only are you giving a second life to forgotten treasures, but you're also adding an extra special element to your presents. You can customize the size of the gift bags based on the book, decorate them with ribbons or personalized messages, and make each one a one-of-a-kind creation. Plus, it's a fun and eco-friendly DIY project that allows you to unleash your creativity and show your thoughtfulness through a handmade gift wrapping. So next time you're looking to make your gift stand out, consider turning those old books into something truly extraordinary!
To make a book page gift bag you will need:
- Large book pages
- Scraps of card
- A 1” circle punch
- Glue - I used Pritt stick
- A hole punch
- Eyelets
- An Eyelet tool - mine is this one from Fiskars
- A length of string - I used some cord from the top of some old curtains to continue the upcycled theme
- A corner punch - optional
Prepare the book pages
Start by trimming the page to remove any torn edges. For each gift bag you need 2 pages. Trim one across the top so it’s about 3” or 7.5cm shorter.
Prepare the paper fastenings
Take the trimmed off section and glue it to some scraps of card. Using the 1” circle punch, punch out 2 circles for each bag.
Punch a hole in the centre of each circle and then fix these “washer’ to the book pages using the metal eyelets. One goes at the centre of the longer page 1” (2.5cm) in from the edge. The other one goes in the centre of the shorter page 3.5” (9cm) down from the top edge. I have a little spring eyelet fixer but you can get squeezy ones too.
Place the book pages together so the washers are on the outside on both pages, line up the bottom edge.
Stitching the gift bags
Stitch round 3 sides on the sewing machine using an old needle (I keep one especially for paper) and a large stitch length. Normally with sewing you will do a few backwards stitches at the beginning and end of a seam to secure it. Don’t do that on paper! It’ll just perforate it too much. Just leave a tail of threads and knot them afterwards to stop the seam unravelling.
You can round the bottom and flap corners with a corner punch if you like, that’s optional.
Take a length of thin twine, approx 35 - 40cm (14” - 15”) is about right. Mine is upcycled from the cords of old curtains, you could use thick sewing thread, embroidery thread or fine crochet cotton too.
Pop the gift in the bag and then wrap the twine around the washers to secure.
It’s the perfect gift bag for a small book but would be great for any small gift, a notebook, stationary sets etc. If your book was Shakespeare like mine it would be ideal for theatre tickets too! The size your gift bags turn out will of course depend on the size you book pages were to start with.