Felt Gift Card Pocket Bags

These little felt bags are just wide enough to slide a gift card inside and just tall enough to keep it hidden.  The pearl button serves as the clasp on the front.  Since it's not designed to be a high-use bag, a simple slit in the green clasper piece of felt works nicely without any reinforcement to clasp the button to close the bag on the front.


The backside of the green clasper piece is sewn on using another button which makes the bag a bit nicer than if I'd only sewn a crisscross pattern to tack the felt down on the back.

The green cuff on the front also adds a nice element that upgrades this bag a bit. I used felt scraps I already had at home and two buttons from my button jar.

Many items of clothing come with extra buttons. Some are included on cards or in tiny attached envelopes or even sewn into the side tag.  In my lifetime I can count on a couple of fingers the number of times I've needed to use one of those extra buttons.  So years ago I started putting them in a mason jar.  I've accumulated a bit of a stash which comes in handy for projects like these.




I designed these small pocket bags to hold gift cards.  I wanted something easy to make and something I could customize personally for the recipient.  I chose burgundy and forest green felt for this one as it was designed to be a Christmas present.  You could easily chose felt colors and patterns to reflect many types of people and special occasions.  Different types of buttons can add the right embellishment for the right person.

To make a pocket bag like this one, you need:  3 pieces of felt: a main body piece of felt (burgundy part) 4 1/2 in. x 5 in., a cuff(green part across the front) 2 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in., and a clasper (green part across the top used to latch the bag closed) 1 in. x 3 1/2 in.; 2 buttons; coordinating thread 

1.  Sew one 4 1/2 in. edge of the cuff to one 4 1/2 in. edge of the main body overlapping the cuff about an inch on top of the body.  The other 1 1/2 in. of cuff should be hanging off the body piece of felt.  Sew the cuff across the edge to the body of the bag using a 1/4 in. seam. This is the wrong side of the bag.
2. fold the 1 1/2 in. part over the body edge to the right side.  
3. Fold the two 4 1/2 in. edges of the right side together.  The 1 1/2 in. cuff should be to the inside.
4. Using a 1/4 in. seam, sew the two sides together down from the cuff.  Sew all the way off the fabric reinforcing each end.
5. Turn the bag right side out.
6. Attach one end of the clasper to the middle of the back of the bag using a button. Cut a small slit in the other end of the clasper that is big enough to button your decorative button on the front.
7. Sew a decorative button onto the middle of the cuff. 

Once you work through one of these, it is so easy to make as many as you need. These pocket bags help you personalize your gift. Hope you enjoy the many variations you can create.