Do yourself a favour

Skill level: Beginner
Time: ​10-15mins each (2-3 mins after you make 100+)

In relaunching the blog under its new moniker (redesign and general jazziness still to come), I wanted the first post to be a little DIY 'how to' on wedding favour bags for a few reasons:

1. Any opportunity for a gloriously cringe-worthy, puntastic title is worth pouncing on (fact)
2. Because the guests at my wedding seemed genuinely titilated to find their little favour bags had been whipped up by yours truly
3. They’re really easy. Like REALLY easy (they'd want to be when you're sewing 130 of the little blighters...).
4. As the title of the blog suggests, I'm a sucker for those extra details - the little thank-you gifts and momentos that leave the people you love feeling extra special. So, forget the 'wedding' bit - make them and stuff them with gifts for any reason (or, even better, for no reason at all).

You will need:

• Fabric of your choice (I went with two complementary colours fitting with my vaguely-existent theme. For a suped-up romantic/vintage look - gather a load of floral/check/polka-dot fabric scraps and make each one unique)
• Scissors or (ideally) pinking shears (not essential but a hugely worthy investment. The zigzag cut stops your fabric from fraying and that, my dear friend means: NO HEMMING THE FABRIC. Seriously, buy some.)
• Tape measure or ruler
• Pencil
• Dressmakers pins
• Needle and cotton (if hand sewing) or threaded sewing machine
• Ribbon for tying
• Tags for finishing (tutorial on these cute fabric tags to come - are we seeing a running theme of the pinking shears?!)

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method:

Step 1:
Choose dreamy fabric and cut to whatever size your favour-stuffing heart desires. Mine are 20cm (w) x 19cm (h) (yes, that whole centimetre did make a difference to the ratio...). The pinking shears will give your bag a fancy detail at the top and save you the need for hemming (did I mention you won't need to hem them?).

Step 2:
Fold your fabric square in half, right sides facing in, and mark a little 1cm pencil line on the open side and bottom. This is your sewing guide (make the line as faint as you can to avoid detection through the fabric, though - don't panic - an eraser can deal with a heavy line). Pin together.

Step 3:
Sew along the lines on your machine or just as easily with a needle and thread (I recommend a good Netflix line-up to accompany hand sewing. Especially if you have a bucket-load of guests...). Once sewn, turn the bag right-side out and press.

Step 4:
Make as many bags as you like, stuff them full of goodies, add a personalised tag and tie with your chosen ribbon.

Voila! 

Happy sewing!