Fabric gift bag made from elegant and lustrous brocade fabric

I have a gift I need to wrap and I always struggle with exactly how to do it so that the gift can be special but the wrappings will be reused.  Gift bags is the obvious choice, in that most people will not throw them out because they are easily reusable and stored.  Not wanting to purchase a bag I decided to see if I could make a fabric gift bag that would have the benefits of a reusable paper gift bag.  I started with a fairly small piece of beautiful fabric which came along with a fabric acquisition that was mainly for quilting.  I was not sure what I should do with the few pieces that were in this lot but they were too beautiful to not hang on to until a project or purpose presented itself.  It is an elegant brocade fabric with a bit of body and a lustrous finish.  I cut the piece in half and trimmed the edges of one piece to be more true.  I stitched the two short ends together.  I should have top stitched it after pressing but I was making it up as I went so I did do it later but it was not as elegant as if I would have been had I done it immediately.  I folded and pressed this tube with the seam in the middle of the whole and stitched the bottom closed.  Next, I folded both sides so I could stitch the bottom to create box corners.  Mine measured about 2.75".  After pressing the bottom triangles into place on the bottom of the bag I stitched across both ends and across the middle which nicely finished the outside and inside.  After pressing again, I folded the bag on the edge of one side and stitched across it to define the bottom edge on this side.  Next, I did the same to the other side.  These two seams nicely define the bottom which allowed me to cut a cardboard rectangle that just fit on the bottom which gives the bag more structure.  Next, I stitched up the top edge and then folded it over and double stitched it at the fold.  Next, I added the ribbons for the handles.  On hindsight, I should have positioned the ribbon handles on the sides before I did the top stitching because that would have been a better finish with less seams.  So this bag now folds flat neatly and the cardboard stays in place while it is stored.  You can see below photos of the front and back.  

I have decided not to include a tag as most people can sort that out themselves and most of the bags that have come my way have tags that have not be used.  On hindsight it is a bit large for my gift but it is a good size for reusing.  This was a fun project and I expect I will probably make a few more with those scraps of beautiful fabric that I have in my stash!!  

Therese