How to Make Fabric Envelopes

These fabric envelopes are such a nice way to gift money, gift cards and other flat gifts, or to send a special card or letter. Pull out your fabric scraps, and make several to add to your gift wrapping supplies. This is a fun little project that sews up quickly.

Fabric Envelopes Tutorial

What You’ll Need:

(2) coordinating fabric scraps
Light-weight interfacing (optional)
A paper envelope
Velcro, snaps or buttons
Thread
Iron-on hem tape, fabric glue or embroidery floss
A ruler
Scissors
Sewing pins or sewing clips
A sewing machine (This is the machine that I have)

Optional (but nice to have):

An air or water-soluble marker
A self-healing cutting mat
A rotary cutter (This is the one I have)

What You Do:

Find a paper envelope that’s the size you’d like to make.

Then, carefully open it at the seams. This will serve as the template for your fabric envelopes.

Lay the deconstructed envelope flat on your fabric. Then, measure and mark 1/4-inch out from the template all the way around, to create your seam allowances.

If you plan to make several fabric envelopes, I recommend tracing your paper envelope onto a piece of heavy-weight paper, so you’ll have a template that you can use over and over.

Time-Saver: Not picky about the finished size of your fabric envelope? Then, just trace around your paper envelope. It’ll sew up 1/4-inch smaller on all sides, but it’ll save you a bunch of measuring.

Cut your fabric out, along the line your created.

Then, lay the piece your just cut out on your second piece of fabric; trace around it; and cut along your line.

If you want your envelope to have a bit of stiffness/body to it, trace your template onto a piece of light-weight interfacing, and cut it out. Then, iron the interfacing onto the back of whichever piece of fabric you plan to use for the outside of your envelope.

Pin the pieces together, right-sides facing. Then, sew a 1/4-inch seam around the edge, leaving a couple inches open for turning.

Use the open part of the seam to turn your envelope right-side out, taking care to push out the corners. I keep a wooden dowel on my desk for this purpose. Then, sew the rest of the seam shut.

Use the paper envelope to determine where you need to fold your envelope.

Then, use a couple pins to hold the seams together.

To join the bottom and side flaps of your envelope, use a bit of iron-on hem tape or fabric glue, or hand-stitch them together.

I used hem tape to close mine. It was a bit wider than I needed, so I just cut the strip in half.

Finish your fabric envelope by adding a Velcro, button or snap closure. If you decide to go with a button closure, sew the button on the bottom of the envelope. Then, sew the button hole on the top flap. If you decide to go with a snap closure, you may want to iron a little square of interfacing on the backside of the top flap, before you sew the two fabric pieces together. This will give you a sturdier spot to set your snap.