Do you want to make a little gift pouch that’s perfect for popping gift cards, jewellery, little toys and more inside? It’s a lovely quick scrap-busting kind of project that can really make a gift feel more fun.
I’ll show you how I made my pattern so that if you want to, you can make your own custom-sized envelope pouch. Alternately you can copy my gift card holder measurements or just download the pattern and get stuck straight into sewing along!
You Will Need:
- Approx 2 x 30cm x 15cm/11 x 9 inches fabric for the outer layer and lining. I used cotton fabric…. it was this penguin cotton! It helps to use a non-directional pattern that looks just as good whichever way up you look at it. If you use a directional fabric instead, you might want to add a seam in the middle, at the bottom of the pouch so that both sides face the correct way up once it’s all stitched together.
- Snap closure (or you could use an alternative closure – e.g. button or velcro).
- Your sewing machine with needle & thread.
Download The Free PDF Sewing Pattern For The Small Gift Pouch Here:
You can either sew along with me in this video tutorial, or if you prefer, just scroll on past and follow along with our step by step photo sewing tutorial.
How To Make The Pattern:
If you want to copy my gift card holder, then feel free to download the pattern by clicking the pretty pattern above (no sign up required, just print out and sew with me!). Or, let me show you how I made my pattern so you can adjust yours to be the perfect size for whatever gift you want to sneak inside.
I like using gift wrap to draft patterns on – the kind with 1cm squares all over the back. It makes it super easy to quickly draw out perfectly squared off shapes. I drew around my gift card twice on top of each other, with about 1.5cm (around half an inch) extra around each of the sides, then added my preferred seam allowance down the sides and bottom around the edge of them both.
I added a curved top with a seam allowance – I made my flap about a third of the depth of one of the gift card rectangles.
I’ve cut it out twice in cotton, once for the lining and once for the outer layer. I folded the bottom up to the base of the flap so the right sides are together, then stitched down both sides to make a pouch shape. I did this for both the lining layer and the outer layer. I made sure to add a couple of stitches forward and back at the start and end just to hold the stitches more firmly. I also used a quarter-inch guide foot to keep my lines straighter and seam allowance consistent… I can sew accurately faster this way!
I finished my raw edges with a quick zigzag stitch down the raw edges along those seams I just stitched. I used an overcast foot for this. Alternately you could use a wider seam allowance and zigzag on the fabric inside the seam or finish the edges with pinking shears.
I clipped the bottom corners so that the corners would be sharper after I turned them. Then I turned the outer layer right side out, then tucked it inside the lining layer. I clipped the side seams and the tab top together to help hold the layers in position.
To stitch them together, I started stitching just a little off to the side at the front of the pouch, sewing towards the tab top. I stopped regularly to keep repositioning the little gift pouch as I went. When I got back to the front, I stopped just after passing the side seam so that there was still a gap at the front of the pouch big enough to turn it all through.
I clipped the fabric on the tab curves to help it lay flatter after I turned it. I snipped towards the stitches being careful not to snip through any.
Then I turned the whole pouch through the hole. I like to use long nose pliers to grab the fabric and just pull it though. If you aren’t used to making lined bags and pouches, it’ll look funny to start with, but don’t worry, it just needs the lining pushing back down inside the outer fabric.
At the turning hole, I tucked the fabric underneath itself, inside the hole so that it was folded over in line with the seam. Pressing it in place at this point with the iron helps it to look nice and crisp, and keeps the fabric where it should be for the last bit of sewing.
I top-stitched all around the top edge. I like to start away from the turning hole, and make sure everything is secured in place before I stitch that down closed.
Then it just needs a closure. I used KAM snaps with a press to add my snaps. I like to close my pouch to see where I’d like the bottom snap before making the hole for the parts to go into. After squashing them into position, I like to feel where the bottom snap is to line the top snap up before put my hole there with the awl. Poppers, velcro or a button closure would work well here too if you prefer them.
Then it’s done! All ready for a gift card, or for jewellery, or maybe it can even double up as a sleeping bag for a surprise little toy or few. They’re so quick to make, I stuffed mine full of all sorts!
I hope you’ll have fun making one or several. If you do, let me know how you got on in the comments, or even better, tag us on Instagram/TikTok with your make to show us!
