Madigan made... dollar store scarves into wine bags.
Need a quick hostess gift idea for the holidays?
Of course you do.
Well, why not whip up one of these bags in under five minutes?
Then just grab a favorite bottle of red... or white. Whatever is your grape of choice.
These wine bags were a very last minute idea I had for the craft fair.
I was at the dollar store picking up little plate holders and frames for displays and signs when I passed the scarf display.
And paused...
I hoped to make a few wine bags this season, maybe out of felt or something. But when I saw the scarves, a little light bulb went off in my head. "Hey! These are pre-cut and the perfect width for a wine bottle."
I grabbed four of the scarves and took them home to see what I could make with them. I had 2 knit and 2 fleece ones.
We had an empty bottle of wine that served as my model for the bag. (Yeah, I like reds... especially in the fall/winter. I prefer to drink white wines in the summer. No, I'm not copying Ina Garten. That habit developed long before I heard her mention it.)
The bag was so simple to make. I folded over the scarf (right sides together) and pinned the sides.
I sewed a seam up both sides of the scarf about 7-8 inches. I wanted the seam to cover the bottle before it started to curve into towards the cork. I tried to sew as close to the fabric edge as I could to make the bag as wide as possible (less than a 1/4 inch seam allowance). I back stitched both ends of the seams.
Then I turned the bag right side out.
I wrapped the ends of the scarf around the bag and voila...
a cute little wine bag!
A couple of tips if you want to make these:
- Consider the width of the scarf. It needs to just fit around the bottle. Look for a narrow adult scarf or kid's scarves.
- The fleece fabric was easier to sew and work with.... but I prefer the look of the knit bag. The knit was thin and had a nice drape after you tied it around the bottle. (I wish the dollar store had a wider selection with patterned knit scarves. But all I saw were these solid colors.)
It was a little corny, but for the fair, I made a sign:
"Scarf Wine Bags
Keep your toast toasty!"
I brought all 4 bags to the craft show and sold out of them in under an hour. Darn, I wish I had brought more! (they were so cute, cheap and simple to make) BUT I got an order from a family friend to make her more of them! I am working on those tonight. (and probably will make a couple for us, too!)
Update 3/11: Since these bags were so cheap to make ($1 scarf plus a little thread) I'm adding them to the Under $5 party at:
