Gift bags are easy to make. Add a personal touch by embroidering a specific holiday greeting using the SINGER® Futura™ CE-250 sewing & embroidery machine. The re-usable fabric bag also becomes a gift, wrapping another gift inside its contents.

Supplies:

• SINGER® Futura™ CE-250
• ½ yard blue fabric
• 1 spool OR ⅞ yard ⅜"−½" silver ribbon
• 2 yards ⅛" silver cord (drawstring for bag)
• 1 spool blue thread
• 1 spool silver metallic thread
• 1 spool white bobbin thread
• Tear-away stabilizer
• Small safety pin

Cut:

• Two 13½" x 17½" pieces blue fabric
• Two 13½" pieces silver ribbon
• Two 1 yard pieces silver cord
• One 6"x 11" piece stabilizer

1. Set up the SINGER® Futura™ CE-250 for machine embroidery.  Place silver thread in the needle and bobbin thread in the bobbin.
   
   
2. Open Futura™ design program, select New Design. Select Lettering.  Then, select  Courier font.  Type in letter height to be 185. Select space at 20. Type Happy on the first line. Advance down to the third line. Indent three spaces, and type in Hanukkah.
   
   
3. Rotate the words counterclockwise  90º.
   
   
4.  Select the wave frame for the lettering.
   
   
5. Click and drag design to position in the hoop embroidery field, as desired.
   
   
6. Place one fabric piece in large hoop along with a piece of tear-away stabilizer underneath it. Position so that there is 1½" of fabric on sides and 2" at the bottom of fabric piece when in the hoop.
   
   
7. Secure embroidery hoop onto machine. Push Start button to embroider.
   
   
8. Remove fabric unit from hoop. Tear away excess stabilizer from back of fabric. Clip threads between letters, if desired.
   
   
9. Remove embroidery unit and embroidery foot and replace with universal foot and arm. Set machine for straight stitching. Place blue thread in needle and in bobbin.
   
   
10. Right sides together, place the two fabric pieces together, matching raw edges.
    
    
11. Sew along one side, across bottom and up other side to create a bag. Press seams open.
    
    
12. Turn bag right side out.
    
    
13. Fold down top edge 2½" to wrong side of bag and press. Baste hem in place.
    
    
14. Fold under ½" on each end of both silver ribbon pieces.
    
    
15. Position each ribbon so folded edge is at side seam and bound edge of ribbon is 2¼" from top folded edge.
    
    
16. Place silver metallic thread in the needle.
    
    
17. Stitch close to top edge of each ribbon.
    
    
18. Do another row of stitching close to other edge of ribbon, creating a casing for the drawstring.
    
    
19. Secure one end of the cording to safety pin.
    
    
20. Thread safety pin with cording attached through ribbon casing going in and coming out the same opening. Remove safety pin. Knot the cording ends together.
    
    
21. Repeat with other cording piece at other side opening of bag. 
    
    
22. Pull each knotted end of cord to gather and close top edge of bag.