That’s A Wrap You Can Easily Make Imaginative Gift Wrapping

In honor of the 12 days of Christmas, here are a dozen innovative, easy ideas for wrapping gifts. Use them this holiday season - or for any other occasion at any time of the year.

Felt sacks

Nestle a gift in a soft sack modeled after the classic brown-paper bag. Each one is made from three pieces of felt. (One piece forms the front, bottom and back; the other two are the sides.) The sacks can be made in any size by altering the following measurements.

For a sack that’s 8 inches tall, 5 inches wide and 3-1/2 inches deep, the single piece for front, bottom and back should be 19-1/2 by 5 inches; side pieces are 8 by 3-1/2 inches.

Fold the large piece where the corners will be. Use your sewing machine’s zigzag stitch (and contrasting thread, if desired) to “pinch” the folds. Pin sides in place, then zigzag in place. Trim bag tops with pinking shears.

Leave bags open, or add a button and buttonhole, or eyelets with a tassel or medallion.

Ornamental bows

To dress up a simple bow, tie a glass Christmas ball, jingle bell or other ornament into it, or tuck a few sprigs of greenery into the knot.

Polka-dot paper

Transform plain white self-adhesive stickers (available at office-supply stores) into cheerful dots: Working in a well-ventilated area, color them in with wide felt-tip markers. Stick them to gifts wrapped in tissue paper.

Tulle wrapping

This sheer net fabric makes festive wrapping. It comes in many colors, doesn’t need hemming and is very inexpensive. Wrap a box in solid-color paper, such as tissue paper. Place on a square of tulle (or two layers of tulle, for a fuller look). Gather the fabric on top of the gift, cinch with a rubber band, then hide the rubber band with a ribbon.

Ribbon finishes

Here are two decorative ways to cut ribbon ends: For a perfect notch, fold the ribbon end in half, and make a diagonal cut starting at the corners of the fabric. For a zigzag finish on a wide ribbon, fold the end lengthwise an odd number of times, and cut diagonally; use pinking shears for an even fancier finish.

Gift sets

When giving several things of the same size - such as compact discs, books or videos - wrap each one separately in a different color of tissue. Stack them, then bind together with ribbon, rickrack, cord or waxed linen twine.

Soft package

At last - a graceful way to wrap an odd-shape gift without using a box. I learned this technique from friends at Bell’Occhio, a San Francisco shop that specializes in wrappings and ribbons. It can also be used for a soft object, such as a scarf, wrapped in tissue.

If the present itself isn’t soft, center it in a nest of Easter grass or excelsior (a shredded-wood product meant for packing); look for these at craft or card stores.

Place the gift (upside down) and its padding on a square of tissue paper large enough so that the sides overlap by 1 inch when folded to the center. Fold two sides inward, and hold in place with one hand; fold the other two sides into points, one at a time, with your free hand.

Fold points to the center, and secure in center with a sticker or tape. Turn the package over, pinch and twist the tissues at the corners into “piglet ears,” and tie with ribbon.

Sewn paper bags

Embellish a plain brown-paper lunch sack with a pretty machine stitch: Place a gift in the bag, and fold the top closed. Using silk buttonhole thread and a No. 16 needle, stitch across the top of the bag with a decorative stitch, such as a zigzag, scallop or bead stitch.

My favorite bow

This foolproof bow is easy to tie, and stays put. Wrap a ribbon around a package, knot it, and form each end of ribbon into a loop. Cross the right loop over the left, send the right one behind and under the left one and through the hole. Pull the knot tight, adjusting loops and tails.

Cellophane bags

These crisp, clear bags make perfect wrappers. Use them to show off handmade sweets, or bundle a small gift in colored tissue and slip it into a bag. Cinch the top with ribbon.

Glassine-envelope tags

Slip a small handmade card, a color copy of a photo or a few hard candies into one of these translucent, milky-white envelopes. Punch a small hole in the corner, and tie it to the gift. Glassine envelopes come in several sizes and are available at archival-supply stores. They can be ordered by mail from American Printing and Envelope Co. (800-221-9403).

Color-theme wrapping

For a stunning effect beneath the tree, choose two or three hues, and use shades of only those colors in your papers, ribbons and cards. Red and green are good for Christmas, of course, but why not change the palette to pink and silver, or green and gold?

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Martha Stewart New York Times Syndicate