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Back to the Frugal Basics: Building a Budget

Kelly — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:00:32 +0000

So you have a dream, and you have a goal. But just having goals doesn’t get you any closer to meeting them. The first step towards becoming more frugal, meeting your goals, achieving financial responsibility (and all sorts of other good stuff) is building a budget.

Why is it important to build a budget before you do anything else? Well, to paraphrase the song, it’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.

Here’s how I build a budget.

When I first realized that I needed to get my financial situation under control, I didn’t know how to go about it. I just knew that I needed to see in black and white where all our money was disappearing to every month. On paper it always looked like we would have enough money to cover all the bills, but the bank never seemed to agree with our calculations. I knew I needed to track our spending, both past and present, but I didn’t know how.

The first thing I did was create an excel budget template. Admittedly I’m somewhat of an excel geek (the making of the spreadsheet itself was a bit of a thrill), but it seemed to me that a spreadsheet was the best method to track my spending. As I mentioned above, I had tried putting pen to paper, and that didn’t work. Nor did I have money to go out and by a copy of Quicken or any other software program.

After creating my budget template, I needed to fill it with information. So I started listing my expense categories, grouping them together in rough categories, like ‘Housing’ (rent, insurance, electricity and phones) or ‘Children’ (clothes, medical visits, outings and so on).

(This image is a nicer version of categories than I could ever make in excel- it’s a screen shot of Pear Budget‘s excellent online budget, and a good starting point of ideas for how to separate your expenses into different categories.) After I had created the categories for my budget, the template was now complete, and I only had to fill in our expenses.

Here’s where my experience differs from some other accounts you might read. Rather than waiting to gather a month’s worth of receipts, and working forward from that point on, I started working backwards by going through three months worth of bank statements and entering information into my budget sheet.

For me, this was the best way of approaching the situation; I was highly motivated to get my act together. Needing to save receipts and wait three months in order to have enough information to fill out the budget would have meant that the budget would never have happened. Instead I took advantage of my motivation and I was able to get a rough idea of where our finances stood with only a few hours work. Of course things weren’t as accurate as they could have been (I had almost completely stopped entering checks in the register for example) but I had a better idea of where we stood than before I started- and the news was both good and bad.

Over the next three months, I entered my previous day’s spending into the budget every morning. I didn’t use receipts (I found that keeping track of them was a hassle), instead I relied on my bank’s online statements.

Another crucial component to successfully building a budget was that I was not concentrating on controlling or lowering my spending. I only wanted to see where it went. I didn’t feel that I would be able to do both at the same time, and I knew that just by tracking what we spent we would spend less than we otherwise would. Once I had several months worth of information I was able to think about controlling our expenses, but we’ll talk more about that step next week!

So there you have it: four steps to creating a successful budget.

Choose your method of tracking your budget. (PearBudget has a free excel worksheet which you can download here. They also have an online budget as a paid monthly service for $3 a month.)
Create categories of spending that are meaningful to you- it doesn’t matter how many or few you have, nor how exact they are, only that they make sense and work for you.
Enter your monthly spending into each of your categories, starting with your past records and then working forward. This is the hard bit, and you might feel a bit discouraged, but keep on plugging.
Don’t worry about controlling your spending, instead start the habit of being aware of your spending. Controlling it comes next week!

Next week’s topic will be controlling your spending. For that session to really be truly effective, it helps to have a budget in place! So the homework for this week is to set up your budget, following the four steps above as best you can.

This is the perfect time to begin a new budget, with a brand new month! So, tell us how you’re doing:

Do you already have a budget in place?
What tools do you use to track things?
Have you not developed a budget because it feels too scary?
Maybe you had one in the past, and have fallen off the wagon (a bit like me, I’m ashamed to admit.)

Thanks for sharing!

Back to the Frugal Basics: Building a Budget by Kelly | Permalink | 10 comments

Back to the Frugal Basics: Creating a Plan

Kelly — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:00:16 +0000

When I first started getting serious about getting a handle on my financial situation, things were a big mess. And chances are that if you have found your way to my blog and are reading this post, you’re not too happy with how things are going in your own financial life.

So here you are, with a nagging sense that things aren’t right. Maybe it’s that feeling in your stomach when you check the mail and see your bank statement waiting to be opened. Or it could be the knowledge that you’ll finish the month with a positive balance if (and only if) the car doesn’t need more gas and the cat doesn’t need to go to the vet. Perhaps it’s just that you don’t know how long your job will last, or when you’ll find a new one.

It isn’t the end. Things do get better. And it starts with a plan.

Having a plan doesn’t mean that you’ll immediately start making progress- in fact it can be even more disheartening when you don’t- but even the little steps you take will bring you one step closer to meeting your goal.

At the beginning of learning about frugality, I only knew that I was sick of feeling all the feelings I described above. I wanted things to be better, and I tried to make them so. I’d throw a lot of money into savings, because I knew I should be saving money, but then I’d need to use it the following month.

What was the problem? I didn’t have a plan. I had no goal to work towards, just an idea of how things should be, and so I kept treading water and going just a bit more under every month.When I created a step by step plan to managing my finances, I was no longer out of control- instead I immediately started to take control.

The first step in making a plan is to have a dream.

So you wanna be more frugal? That’s great… but why? Is it because frugality is the latest buzz word and you don’t want to be the last person to jump on the bandwagon? Or is there another reason? You would like to buy a house, pay off your debts, create an emergency fund or be able to afford to buy groceries every month. Whatever that reason is, that is your dream.

My dream is to be debt free, to have enough money saved that I don’t feel a pit in my stomach when an emergency happens, to have a ‘moving away from France’ fund and a down payment on a house.

The second step in creating a plan is to break it down into goals.

Have I achieved my dream? No, and I’m not even close. It’s a big dream, several big dreams in fact, and that can seem kind of daunting. So I broke down the dream into a more manageable goal.

Why? Because I can only do so much with our limited resources at the moment, and it seems reasonable to me that I not bite off more than I can chew. So my goal, as I elaborated on at the beginning of the year, is to save money towards our emergency and retirement funds and not to take on any new debt.

Creating a plan is about more than breaking down your greater dream into smaller goals. Making a plan is also about how you are going to meet those goals. So when I resolved to save money towards an emergency fund, I came up with an amount that I wanted to save (€1500) and how much I would need to put aside every month to meet that goal (€125).

I have had to empty my emergency fund of the money I’ve put into it so far- we’ve been going through some really hard financial times recently. But boy was I glad that we had the fund to empty, and having to do so hasn’t dissuaded me from continuing to save, not one little bit.

And it is possible to make plans, even when life is full of uncertainty.

Here’s a nice article about how planning (and frugal living) has helped one couple make plans even in a bad economy.

A recent study by the Financial Planning Association and Ameriprise found that people who have a formal plan have more confidence in their ability to reach their financial objectives even in times of uncertainty. In other words, they don’t freak out when their portfolios take a hit and stash their money under the mattress.

We’ll talk next week about building a budget, about finding that extra money when you really feel like you have nothing left at the end of the month. And a few weeks after that, we’ll talk about how to stick to your budget and avoid falling into some deadly, goal busting traps.

But for now, let’s talk about your plans.

What are your dreams? What are your goals to meet in making those dreams a reality? What kind of plan are you making?

Back to the Frugal Basics: Creating a Plan by Kelly | Permalink | 7 comments

Concepts in Frugality: Hoarding

Kelly — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:00:02 +0000

Today’s post is part of an occasional series called ‘Concepts in Frugality’. You can see other posts in this series here.

One thing that you often hear mentioned in any list of money saving or frugal tips is the idea of taking advantage of sales or good deals to stock up on stuff at good prices. Touted as the frugal person’s bank account of sorts, these stockpiles are supposed to help you control your budget and expenses, as you buy things when they are at a good price, not when they need them. And of course there are also all the times you can get things for free, from hand-me-down children’s clothing from friends, to buy one get one offers combined with coupons from the corner drugstore.

But is buying extra, even when you don’t need it, taking advantage of a good deal to stock up on what you will use eventually anyway, stockpiling for a rainy day, or hoarding?

Hoarding, or the compulsive collection of goods, is a strong word, of course. And I don’t think it’s the same thing as stocking up on a good deal, or buying large quantities of a bargain, at least not when kept under control. But when does stockpiling pass the line into hoarding? Is there ever a point at which enough is enough? Can you have too many tubes of toothpaste?

Although I’m not able to take advantage of many of the deals that most of my readers can, because they don’t exist in France, I still like to think of myself as an expert stockpiler. I have a laid-in supply of just about everything, from bars of soap from Ikea (bought on sale for 4 for €.30) to canned tomatoes to children’s clothes. And I feel like these supplies are insurance against having to pay a high price because I am in a situation of obligation, not option.

Sometimes though, I think people might look at me a bit askance. “Why are you buying 8 packs of baby wipes- they’ll last you for months!” my usually frugal mother said to me the last time she came shopping with me. But they were on sale for a really good deal, and they don’t have an expiration date, so I stocked up. It’s only now, three months later, that I need to think about buying some more.

While I try to stock up on good deals that come around, sometimes it’s just not possible. My house is small, and my budget is limited, so I have to use our limited resources as best as I can. Friday I’ll discuss how and where I store my stashes of stuff… it is possible, even in a small house!

Tell me how you do it. Are you a hoarder or a stockpiler, or do you buy things as you go along? I know it’s not always easy buying extra when the budget is tight- what’s your strategy?

Concepts in Frugality: Hoarding by Kelly | Permalink | 30 comments

Concepts in Frugality: Rethink Your Thinking

Kelly — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:00:58 +0000

Today’s post is part of an occasional series called ‘Concepts in Frugality’.

You don’t ‘have to’ do anything.

Too often we fall into the trap of thinking that we have to buy a certain brand, go to a certain store, send our kids to a certain activity. “I have to buy this brand of facial cleanser,” you might say to yourself. “Otherwise my skin breaks out.” Or maybe “I have to use this kind of laundry detergent– I don’t like the way the other one smells.”

I do it all the time- I rely on old habits, on old patterns, firmly entrenched ways of thinking in making my buying decisions.

But what decisions would you make, if you rethought your thinking? If you were forced to act another way, would it change your mind and your patterns?

I have a friend who was convinced that she could not lower her monthly grocery budget below a certain point. When she started only using cash to pay for groceries however, she managed to spend a third less than the months before.

I thought I had to keep the heat at a certain temperature, or my kids wouldn’t sleep. Turns out I was wrong. I thought I had to buy a brand name coffee, or we wouldn’t like the taste. Turns out I was wrong. I thought I had to have a two hour contract on my cell phone, or I wouldn’t have enough minutes. Turns out I was wrong.

Rethinking my habits and my convictions, even those I was convinced I couldn’t change, was a useful exercise for me. I’m discovering why I do things. Some of the reasons are frugal worthy… others, not so much. But I don’t have to do anything- I make the frugal (or almost frugal) choices I make because I choose to make them.

What things do you do because you have to? And what do you do because you want to?

Concepts in Frugality: Rethink Your Thinking by Kelly | Permalink | 9 comments

Concepts in Frugality: Know What You Want

Kelly — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:30:03 +0000

Today’s post is the first in an occasional series called ‘Concepts in Frugality’.

I’m not an expert on frugality, for a myriad of reasons. My family can’t survive on one income, we don’t save enough money, we have too much debt, and it’s well documented that I have a hard time resisting Ikea’s magic lure. I fully admit that I could be more frugal in many ways, and I’m trying to improve every day.

But there are many ways in which I am frugal, exemplified by the things I do and what I believe in. For the past few months I’ve been thinking about these choices, and why I make them, and I’ve found that they fall into several categories of frugal thinking… guiding principles if you will.

I’ll be writing about these concepts of frugality every so often because I believe that, when learning to live a frugal life, it is just as important to think about the why as the how. In other words, lists of frugal tips are fine and good, but all your frugal efforts are ultimately doomed to failure if you don’t truly shift your way of thinking.

Concept in Frugality: Know what you want and be willing to wait for it

It used to be that if you wanted to buy something, you saved up for it and paid cash. Or you waited until your paycheck or you got a bonus. You might have even put it on layaway (do stores even offer layaway anymore?).

Now things are different. Western cultures are built on the principle of spend, spend, spend, France less so than the United States, but catching up fast. And I think that it’s hard to be immune to this urge. See the pretty, shiny thing! Want the pretty, shiny thing! Buy the pretty shiny thing!

I have it as bad as the next person, but I am slowly beginning to try and retrain myself. I still want stuff- lots of stuff- but I’m putting off buying it. Until when? Well, that depends. Sometimes it’s until I find a really good deal on the product, usually used. Or I might wait until I can pay for it in cash. I imagine how I will use what I am buying, and what it will look like with what I already have.

Often, it turns out that I don’t really want it any more, or I forget about the item entirely. But in any of these situations, if I wait to buy and don’t just open my wallet automatically, I feel confident in my choices. I have noticed that I feel bad about spending money when I buy on impulse, or without imagining how this new purchase will fit into my life.

A few examples from my life: I had been lusting after a certain couch from Ikea for a few months, with curved arms and big, squishy pillows. The only problem was that it cost a lot of money, much more than I could afford, many hundreds of euros in fact. So I quietly lusted, dreamed of how nice it would look in my living room; I would even go to visit it. Until one day when I stumbled across it on Ebay, for €43, for sale by somebody living the next town over. I’ve furnished much of my living room like this: the couch, two armchairs, a rug, all bought for a fraction of their original price.

Just before I started school, we bought a laptop. I knew that I would need one for my work, and I had been looking into different models for a few months. We found a good deal and then? We paid cash. It’s a good feeling to pay cash for a big purchase, I discovered.

As I have been transitioning from teacher to stay-at-home-mom to student, and next professional marketing consultant, my wardrobe has been having a hard time keeping pace. I know that I need nice work pants and tops, and I took advantage of the semi-annual sales that are on in France right now to find some good deals. I didn’t even look at other types of clothing, and consequently I feel good about what I bought: I kept within my budget and I bought things I truly need.

What are you willing to wait for? How do you feel about spending money on impulse? When was the last time you paid cash?

Concepts in Frugality: Know What You Want by Kelly | Permalink | 14 comments

Holidays by Hand: Ribbons and Thread

Kelly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:00:58 +0000

I had originally planned to show you how to make wire people, but I’ve never managed to get an entire one finished. I had first learned about this in Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects by Salley Mavor and I’ve been trying to recreate these whimsical creatures for, oh let’s see, about four years now. Do yourself a favor and look at the pictures in the book. I promise you that you too will be enchanted by them and soon your living room can be full of embroidery thread, wooden beads and pipe cleaners. Which make excellent cat toys, by the way.

On to some bloggers who really know what they’re doing.

This is the post that got me started down the road to choosing ribbons and thread as a theme. I think this ribbon wreath is so beautiful, and it would be gorgeous in any choice of color. I’m planning on doing one in shades of gray for my front door. And, as just a series of knots, it is one of those crafts that would come together in little time.

Sylvia, of a tad bit prudish, contributed a how-to post on creating ribbon bookmarks to Creative Bliss. I love that these are so easy and simple, yet look delightfully fru-fru at the same time.

This next craft is also delightful, this time in its simplicity. Alice drew inspiration from Soule Mama, but embroidered a tracing of her child’s hand onto classic linen. It’s a new, classic, take on preserving your child’s hand print, and I imagine that it would be a quick enough project to do that you could gift one each to a whole slew of doting relatives.

Rachel from Small Notebook has a tutorial on making ribbon belts in five minutes. She says these are perfect for little girls, but I think they’re perfect for big girls too.

Robin’s Egg Blue posts on a technique for embroidering words. I like being able to play with fonts and colors, and her method lets you do just that.

It’s cold out, at least where I live. And it’s cold in Maine too, where our next crafter lives… Nicole from Breaking Even, Inc shows how to embroider mittens in one of her Too Cute Tuesdays posts. I like this craft because it takes a basic object, in this case store bought mittens, and customizes it easily and quickly.

Kate from Curiositys is embroidering scarves for some of her lucky friends and relatives. Like Nicole’s mittens, this project takes a mass produced object and gives it a handmade touch.

I love the idea of these beautiful fabric wrapped initials on GoodyGoody. OK, so they’re not made of ribbon or thread, but they could be! And it’s an endlessly adaptable craft, large or small, colors and buttons, different letters even, for goodness sake!

Here’s another craft that’s not quite ribbons or thread, but who cares! Nester, she of the beautiful blog the Nesting Place, has created a ragamuffin memo garland. Using old scraps of fabric, or even ribbons, you can create a beautiful fluffy garland. I like the idea of draping it on something; I imagine this would be beautiful on the handrail of a staircase for example.

These clothespin dolls from PlumPudding model fancy ribbon belts, but you could dress them in just about anything. This is a great way to use up fabric scraps. I imagine the hardest part of this project would be finding the wooden pegs!

If you have a lot of yarn left over from knitting (make sure to check out next week’s knitting theme on One by Three) than this is a handy craft for you. I love the idea of felting balls from scrap, and I think these would be a beautiful first toy for a baby or young toddler.

As a mom to a little girl and two big boys, I am just entering into the world of girly Stuff. And what’s more girly than a frilly tutu? Problem Solvin’ Mom shares an easy tutu tutorial that will make any twirling loving girly-girl swirl with glee.

Not the Jet Set shows how to repurpose doilies as produce bags. Such an ingenious idea, which adds a touch of beauty to the mundane-ness of grocery shopping!

And finally, Jodi from Back Porch Reflections shows how to embroidery without using a fancy machine. Her holiday projects are very cute!

Thanks to all those who participated and who have been reading along! You can find week one: sewing at Simple Mom and week two: papercrafts at Small Notebook. Next week’s edition will be knitting at One of Three. For the complete schedule, click here.

Holidays by Hand: Ribbons and Thread by Kelly | Permalink | 8 comments

How to Look Fabulous, Frugally: Part Three

Kelly — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:00:01 +0000

So you have learned what kinds of clothes you need as well as the specific garments that make your now streamlined wardrobe go further. Now how to take care of it all?

I don’t buy clothes unless they are machine washable. Not only does dry cleaning cost too much money, but I find taking things to the cleaners and remembering to pick them up is too much of a hassle. When you do wash your clothes, don’t over stuff the washer. Turning the clothes inside out and washing them on as cool a temperature as possible keeps the color fresh longer. And although I hate hanging my clothes out to dry, doing so keeps them in much better shape than tossing them into the dryer.

Not all clothes are machine washable however- make sure to hand wash very delicate items. Truly delicate pieces of clothing are fewer and farther between than you might think however, most stuff can just be tossed into the washing machine in a zippered net bag. And have you heard the one about freezing new pantyhose overnight before you wear it the first time? It really does prevent runs, at least for the first few wearings.

Another frugal way to make your clothes last longer is to make sure that you fit into them. I read a comment recently which said that the commenter was not going to buy any new clothes, only make sure she fit into the ones she already had. I don’t know how practical this strategy is, but I do know that maintaining different wardrobes for different clothing styles takes up more space and costs more money than having one unique selection. This excellent post from Blissfully Domestic talks about how your clothes should fit.

It’s also important to know how to do basic alterations to your clothes. Whether that is hemming pants, replacing a button, or darkening a faded t shirt, a bit of tinkering with your garments can make them last much longer. I have at times gone even further, for example shortening the hem on a man’s dress shirt and adding darts to the front and back to make it into a woman’s dressy blouse. And there’s also the classic move of taking a dress and turning it into a top and skirt.

Taking good care of your clothes makes them last longer. The most frugal tip of all might be to change from your ‘good’ clothes into your ‘house’ clothes when you get home from work. I try to do this as much as possible, saving wear, tear and potential stains on my nice outfits for the grungy ones. If you don’t have to pay to replace your wardrobe, that’s the most frugal tip of all.

How do you take care of your clothes? What are your frugal clothing care tips?

How to Look Fabulous, Frugally: Part Two

Kelly — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:00:51 +0000

This is the second in a three part series on revamping your wardrobe, frugally. You can read the first part here.

What is a frugal wardrobe? Is it many inexpensive clothes? Clothes bought from a thrift store or made yourself? Spending money on quality pieces to last a lifetime?

The answer to the question depends on you. There are those that argue in favor of buying high quality classic styles and wearing them for many years. That tends to be the case of the older generation in France. On the other hand, the argument can be made that your clothes might tend to look dated after a while, even the classic styles, even for those who are not fashionistas. Some others might feel that a frugal wardrobe is bought inexpensively, given that they are hard on their garments and need to replace them often.

Last week I talked about the different categories of clothes: from grungy to little black dress. I mentioned that I most need dressy casual clothes and nice business clothes. For me that translates into nice jeans or loose leggings paired with solid t shirts or, for nicer wear, slacks and button downs. I also want to have enough clothes to be able to get through one week without doing laundry: this means 4 pairs of nice pants, two pairs of casual pants, 6 nice tops, 6 casual tops and two skirts. I’m lucky to have all these items and more. If I take good care of my clothes, I’ll be set for a while.

Along with the classic ‘essential’ elements, I also rely heavily on some favorite accessories. The most versatile element in my closet, for example, is a scarf that my mother bought for me about fifteen years ago. It is long and skinny, woven of different colored and textured ribbons and threads. What makes it so versatile however is the combination of colors- blues, greens, browns, grays and blacks and one strand of burgundy. It goes with every item of clothing I own; I can wear it any time and any place.

Remember those questions from last week?

Do I love this?
Does this look good on me?
Do I wear it?
Is it in good condition?
Does it fit into one of the categories of clothes I need?

They’re not only appropriate questions to ask when evaluating the current state of your closet, they’re also good to ask when thinking about which clothes to buy. My frugal wardrobe is a mix of both inexpensive and quality. But I love everything in it, especially those staples of my wardrobe that fit into the two main categories. I also no longer buy things that don’t look good on me, because I think they might fit one day, or are a really good price or are the latest fashion or maybe I’m just bored. I tend to buy classic styles, in few colors. I have some nicer items passed down from my grandmother, otherwise I shop at H+M and the thrift store. But what should you have in your frugal wardrobe?

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

Kelly — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:00:48 +0000

So making your own gift bags is great for both your pocketbook and Mother Earth, right? Of course.

Except. There are times when a reusable fabric gift bag might not be the best choice. I can think of two groups of people whose presents I won’t be wrapping in fabric this year: children and those from whom I don’t feel comfortable asking the bag back.

I think children should have the experience of ripping paper- it’s a lot of fun! Plus, my kids are at the age when they’re starting to get invited to birthday parties, and if my kids don’t really understand the cloth bag, other people’s kids really aren’t going to understand. And there’s a whole bunch of people (grown-ups this time) who wouldn’t like the idea very much either.

Enter the customizable wrapping paper. I bought a large roll of white paper from Ikea about six months ago, the sort of paper that is supposed to be used with a child’s easel. And every time I have a present to wrap in paper, I cut off a piece big enough for wrapping what ever it is and let my children have at it. They draw pictures, scribble color on, or write messages.

They love to draw and write, even more so when I explain that this is paper for their friend Lou-Ann or Eva or whom ever’s present. And I like that their drawing personalizes the present even further.

I even use this paper for wrapping boxes when I ship things. If you have ever received a package from me, it will have been wrapped in sturdy white paper. Ikea really does have it all!

Any creative wrapping paper tips? Let’s hear them!

This post is part of Holidays *by hand*.

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper by Kelly | Permalink | 19 comments

Make Your Own Gift Bags

Kelly — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:00:07 +0000

I love presents. Don’t you? And I’m still just childish enough to admit that I prefer receiving presents to giving them. Not that I don’t like to give presents- I do!- but there’s such a thrill in the discovery of unwrapping the package to see what’s inside.

Except. As I’ve become more environmentally and economically aware over the past few years, I’ve also become aware that I’m spending money on something that is going to be useful for about two minutes before being ripped to shreds and thrown away. Thus a new (holiday) resolution: This year I’m going to be making as many reusable gift bags as possible.

Gift bags are fairly easy to make, they are nothing more than a fabric pouch. They are a perfect project for beginner sewers, as all you need to do is sew five straight lines. Choose a colorful sturdy fabric, one hundred percent cotton is best. If you are making bags for a specific holiday you might want to choose themed fabric, or you could choose a more child-pleasing print for your kids’ gifts. Make sure to pre-wash your fabric!

Then, cut out different sized pieces of fabric for your different sized bags. I’m going to be making lots of DVD sized bags this year as well as some larger bags for kid toys. You want the bag to be at least 4 inches wider and 6 inches longer than the object which it is going to hold, to account for seam allowance and the width of the object as well as to give enough room to tie a ribbon on. A bag large enough to hold a DVD for example, would require two pieces of fabric, each sized 9.5 inches by 13.5 inches.

Stitch a top hem for the opening of the bag: fold the fabric on one of the narrow sides over 1/2 inch, and then over again 1/2 inch, so that the cut end is completely contained. Pin the hem into place, then stitch a straight or zig-zag seam. Repeat for the second piece of fabric.

Then place the right sides of the fabric together, (don’t forget to put the opening, hemmed ends at the same end). Pin together and then stitch around the 3 unhemmed sides to make a bag. Turn inside out. Et voila! A cloth bag for wrapping presents!

You can either sew a ribbon on or leave it off. I prefer not to sew the ribbon on, as it then gives me a bit more leeway in the size of the present to be wrapped. I plan on making some for our family’s gifts this year, in a variety of plain colors like black, red, green and blue. While it might take more effort to stitch up a few of these than simply wrapping paper around a present, this project is good both for the environment and my pocketbook.

I have not included pictures of the different steps in this project because (ahem) I haven’t made any of these bags yet. The picture above is of my cloth diaper wet bags, which I made using the exact same process. Yes, I am a procrastinator, on the other hand, we’re in the middle of midterms at school right now! If you have made gift bags, I’d love to see a picture of them!

Have you ever made a reusable fabric gift bag? How did your family like them?

This project is part of Holidays *by hand* a six part handcrafted holiday fair.

Make Your Own Gift Bags by Kelly | Permalink | 24 comments