Wine Bottle Gift Sleeve

 I saw this idea years ago in a magazine.  Though I don’t remember which magazine, nor did I save their directions, I certainly remember the project!  These wine bottle gift sleeves are a more sustainable option for gift wrapping.  Appropriate for any holiday or special occasion, these gift bags can be used repeatedly!  These sleeves work really well for bottles of wine, but they can be used for so much more.

Consider making some of your own.

Purchase men’s dress shirts from your local charity shop or garage sale, or glean them from a family member’s closet.  Look for cotton shirting fabric in colorful patterns.  Stripes, plaids, and prints work nicely.  Be sure the fabric has no stains, rips, or missing buttons.  Launder the shirts.

Cut off the sleeves from a men’s dress shirt.  Set the shirt aside, as you will only use the sleeves for this project.  The remaining parts of the shirt can be used for other projects, so don’t discard them.

Though you can use regular fabric scissors, using a cutting mat, straight edge, and rotary cutter make work significantly easier.

 

Because the sleeve flares out quite a bit on one side, trim the excess to make it more symmetrical with the other side.

Turn the sleeve inside out.

Cut the bottom of the sleeve so it is straight.  I usually cut mine to about 15 inches (+ or - an inch or two) in length from cuff to bottom. 

Sew along the open side seam and along the bottom.

Turn right side out.

I use a chopstick to aid in getting corners to turn out crisply. 

Iron the sleeve.

Tuck the bottom corners in if desired.

I typically make several at a time.

 

 

Embellish with string and any of the following options:

A shipping tag, a quote cut from a book, a shell, a piece of leather, a button, a library card, or other.

Use your imagination and your scraps!

Whenever I gift something in one of my sleeves, invariably, the gift recipient loves the sleeve as much as the gift inside!

All photos by Paulette Rodriguez.

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