Do you want to make a paper bag that is different from a regular brown paper bag? You can make your own paper bags from sheets of old magazines and newspapers, or unused craft paper. You can make sturdier pouches, or pouches for gift wrapping, decoration, or just for fun.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Decorating Paper Bags
Step 1. Select and prepare the ingredients
You need to consider the look, thickness, and handle of the bag according to the type of paper bag you want to make.
- You'll need scissors, glue, a ruler, and a pencil to help you make the paper bag.
- Patterned or colorful craft paper is perfect for making paper bags. The thicker material will help maintain the shape of the bag while making it able to accommodate the heavier load inside. Craft paper is available in a wide selection of patterns and colors.
- Wrapping paper or used newspaper are suitable if you want to make a thinner pouch.
- A piece of string or ribbon is perfect for making a pouch handle.
- Prepare materials such as prints, decorative feathers, glitter ornaments, paint, and colored pencils and crayons to decorate your paper bag.
Step 2. Cut a piece of paper measuring 24 x 38 cm
Use a ruler to determine the size and a thin pencil to mark the shape. Or, you can also cut out any square shape.
Shorten manufacturing time by using the straight edge of the paper. When your sheet of paper is the right size, cut it from one corner, not the middle
Step 3. Decorate your paper bag
In some cases, decorating the pouch before making it will make it easier to make. If you're patterning, or coloring the bag a different color, it's easier to decorate it while it's still a sheet of paper so you can make sure the pattern and color are the same throughout the bag.
Decorate one side of the paper. You can also decorate both sides of the bag if you want to accentuate the ornate pattern inside the bag or to hide a distracting image, especially if you're using newspaper
Part 2 of 2: Making Paper Bags
Step 1. Place the cut paper on a flat surface in front of you
Be sure to lay the paper wide or place the longer side at the top and bottom, and the shorter side at the left and right.
If you've decorated your paper before, make sure it's dry and face down
Step 2. Fold the bottom side of the paper up by 5 cm and press the crease
Once done, reopen it. This section will later become the base of the paper bag.
Step 3. Find the midpoint of the top and bottom sides of the paper
To find it, you can calculate the midpoint with a ruler or fold your paper. There are three points you should mark:
- In the extended position, bring the two short sides of the paper together, as if you were going to fold the paper in half, and press the top and bottom of the nearly folded side, to mark the midpoint of the two long sides of the paper. Put a small mark using a pencil in this section.
- Mark the right and left sides of the two paper center points 13 mm apart. When you're done, there should be six marks in total, i.e. three marks in the center of each long side of the paper.
Step 4. Fold the sides of the paper according to the markings
Be sure to keep the paper wide as you fold it according to the following steps:
- Bring the right side of the paper to the far left of the pencil mark, then fold it over. Once folded well, press the fold, then unfold. Repeat folding the other side.
- Turn the paper over, fold the right and left sides of the paper back toward the center, and glue the place where they meet with glue. Make sure to fold along the same lines as before (but in an inverted fold position). Allow the glue to dry completely before moving on to the next step.
Step 5. Turn the paper bag over so the glue-glued part forms the base
Be sure to position it so that one of the openings of the pouch is facing your body.
Step 6. Fold the side basins inward to form fan-like folds
You will make this section the side of the bag so that it opens like a rectangle.
- With a ruler, measure 3.8 cm from the left side of the bag inwards. Make a small mark with your pencil.
- Push the side grooves of the bag inward. Press until the mark you just made in the previous step coincides with the outer edge of the paper groove.
- Press and fold the paper downwards so that the mark you made is parallel to the new fold. Try to keep the top and bottom of the bag symmetrical as you press the paper down.
- Repeat on the right side of the bag. When you're done, the right and left sides of the bag should have curved inwards like a shopping bag.
Step 7. Prepare the bottom of the bag
To determine which side will be the bottom of the bag, look for the hollow line you created earlier to mark the bottom of the bag. Let the bag deflate for now and make the base:
- Fold and glue the bottom of the bag. After determining the bottom of the bag, glue the sections together:
- Fold the bag 10 cm from the bottom towards the top and press the crease.
- Open the bottom of the bag, but leave the rest of the bag flat. The indentation basin should open to form a square. Inside, you'll find triangles formed from folded paper on each side.
Step 8. Put the bottom of the bag together
You will fold some of the sides of the bag in the middle, using a triangle shape, to make the bottom of your bag close tightly.
- Fold the right and left sides of the square bottom opening of the bag all the way down. Use the outer edge of each triangle on the inside of the bag as a reference. When finished, the bottom of the bag will have 8 sides like an elongated octagon, not just 4 sides as before.
- Fold the bottom "octagon" sheet up towards the midpoint of the bottom of the bag.
- Fold the top "octagon" sheet down toward the midpoint of the bottom of the bag. The bottom of the bag should now be tightly closed; glue the edges of the overlapping parts with glue, and allow them to dry.
Step 9. Open the paper bag
Make sure that the bottom of the bag is tightly closed and that there are no gaps between the parts that are glued together.
Step 10. Hold the pouch
You can use ribbon, string, or twine to hold the bag, or leave your bag without a handle.
- Seal the tops of your bag together and use a paper hole punch to make 2 holes near the ends. Do not drill the hole too close to the end of the bag, or the weight of the bag and its contents will damage the handle.
- Reinforce the edges of the holes using clear tape or glue as a protective layer.
- Thread the drawstring through the hole and make a knot on the inside of the bag. Make sure the knot is big enough so it won't come out through the hole. You may need to create one more node on top of the existing node to increase its size. This knot will keep the pocket grip in position.
Tips
- Line the area where you made the bag with old newspaper, so it will be easier for you to clean it.
- Colored graph paper can also be used.
- You can give this paper bag as a gift to your friend. Beautify it with various decorations such as paint, markers, and glitter decorations.
- If you want to make the pouch shorter, fold the top of the paper to the height you want it to be, then trim the crease with scissors.
- Use cloth to decorate your pockets.
- Don't use too much glue.
