Gift bag maker
Gift bag template
A block-bottom bag whose top turns down inside to stiffen the rim, finished with two punched ribbon holes or two paper handles. Type the size and the handles are drawn to fit it.
How to fold it
Print at 100% on 160 to 250 gsm cardstock, or on patterned scrapbook paper.
Cut the outline along the solid lines. For ribbon, punch the two marked holes near the top with a 1/4 in hole punch; for handles, cut the strips out as their own piece.
Fold the band down inside the top first, along the line across the rim. Then crease every dashed line on the sides and the bottom, both ways.
Roll the sides into a tube, glue the tab inside one side and press it firm. Fold each side's bottom triangle in, fold the front flap up and glue the back flap over it.
For ribbon, thread the cord from outside through both holes and knot it inside. For handles, fold each strip at its two 45° bends and glue each foot inside the front and back, under the band.
To store it flat, push the sides in along their middle creases and fold the bottom up onto the front.
How the template is drawn
Band at the rim
The top 12.2 mm (0.48 in) of the bag turns down inside all the way round, so the rim doubles and keeps its shape. The band is 12% of the height, kept between 10 and 40 mm and under half the height of the front.
Two holes for ribbon
Each hole is 1/4 in (6.35 mm) across, the size a standard hole punch makes, and the pair sits 30.6 mm (1.2 in) apart: 40% of the width, kept between 12 and 100 mm. The holes pass through the front, the back and both bands, which are drawn to line up once folded down.
Strips for handles
Paper handles are cut as a second and third piece, each 7.6 mm (0.3 in) wide: a tenth of the bag's width. A grip stands 25 mm (0.98 in) above the rim, 30% of the width and kept between 25 and 80 mm.
Feet that turn straight down
Each strip has a 45° fold at both ends of its grip. A 45° fold turns a strip by 90°, so the feet drop straight down without bending. The feet are 30.6 mm (1.2 in) apart, glued inside the front and back below the band.
Smallest bag
The smallest gift bag the tool makes is 40 mm wide and 50 mm tall. Below that the band has no room to fold down.
Pressed flat
Pressed flat, the bag is 76.4 mm (3.01 in) wide and 101.9 mm (4.01 in) long: as wide as its front and as long as its walls. The sides fold in along their middle creases to get there.
Birthday, wedding and holiday gifts
A gift bag with a folded rim suits birthdays, holidays, wedding favors, and a candle or a mug. Choose ribbon holes when the gift needs a cord tied at the top, and paper handles when it has to be carried. Handles hold best in 160 to 250 gsm cardstock; a patterned scrapbook sheet works too, if you set a 12 × 12 in sheet under “Other size…”.
A bag for something narrower and taller goes in the bottle bag. Without a band or handles, the same body is the paper bag. A flat gift does better in a pillow box or a tuck end box, and a small favor that needs no ribbon fits a favor pouch. A slice of cake carried by a handle travels upright in the cake box.
