By CraftingStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Easy Origami and Crafts.
A shop-bought gift bag costs a few dollars and comes in whatever colors the shop had. This one takes a sheet of paper, a glue stick, and about seven minutes, and it has the things that make a bag a bag: a flat base it stands on, and gusseted sides that let it expand.
The method is from Easy Origami and Crafts on YouTube. The base is the part worth slowing down for - you fold it, unfold it, then collapse it into a flat diamond before gluing. That sequence is what gives the finished bag a bottom that sits square instead of a rounded pouch.
Scale it however you like. Letter paper makes a bag for a small gift; wrapping paper or kraft paper on a larger sheet makes something you could actually carry.
10 steps · about 7 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Almost any square or rectangle works, but a standard A4 or letter sheet keeps the proportions easy. You also need glue. A glue stick or tape runner dries fast and does not wrinkle the paper the way liquid glue can.
Tip
A tape runner or glue stick beats liquid glue here. Wet glue soaks into the paper and wrinkles the flat panels where it shows most.
Run glue down one side edge of the sheet - the right side works fine. Hold the paper upright and bring the opposite side over on top of the glued strip. Press along the seam. You now have a paper tube.
Tip
Overlap the glued edge by about a centimeter. Any less and the seam pops open while you are shaping the base.
Position the tube so the glued seam sits in the middle of one face rather than at a corner. Push the sides in and flatten it back down into a rectangle. Getting the seam centered now is what makes the finished bag look symmetrical.
Fold the bottom edge upward, roughly a third of the way. Then fold the two bottom corners down at an angle. Crease all three folds firmly - you are marking lines you will reopen in a second.
Unfold both corner folds, then open the bottom out. Push the sides in and flatten the two corners against the creases you just made. The bottom collapses into a flat diamond, which is the classic paper-bag base.
Tip
This is the step that decides whether the bag stands up. Press the diamond completely flat and check both corners are symmetrical before moving on.
Working on that diamond, bring the top point down past the middle a little. Then fold the bottom point up the same way, mirroring what you did on top. Unfold both again so you can see where the glue needs to go.
Put glue on the two triangles at the top and bring the top flap back down onto them. Then add glue to the four remaining spaces and fold the other flap over. Press the whole base flat and give it a moment to hold.
Tip
Hold the base together for a slow count of ten. Letting go early is the most common reason a bag comes apart at the bottom.
Look at the two small squares at the bottom - their corners tell you exactly where the side folds go. Fold the left side in using those corners as a guide, then the right side the same way. These folds are what let the bag expand.
Unfold the paper and put your hand inside to pop the bag open. Push each side out and press the corners so everything sits straight, like a proper rectangle. The gussets you folded should fall into place on their own.
Tip
Run a finger down each vertical crease from the inside once the bag is open. That is what gives the sides their sharp corners.
You can stop here and leave the bag open. To close it, fold the top edge over and press the lid down. The sides fold in neatly and you get a finished gift bag with clean corners.
E6000
E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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