How to make luggage tags – quick DIY gift idea!

Sew a handmade stocking filler for all your loved ones with these quick-sew luggage tags for a friend or family member who loves to travel!

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Lorna Slessor

Published: November 25, 2020 at 3:39 pm

Have you started your Christmas gift sewing yet? We're bringing you homemade gift ideas every day in the run up to Christmas and today's speedy craft project is these new DIY luggage tags for a friend or family member who loves to travel. They'll be able to pop them on their favourite suitcases to travel in style in 2021!

Pick up a copy of issue 91 or 92 of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine to discover our nifty gift guides for sewists and quilters – find six ideas in each issue for great gifts to whip up for loved ones. Check out issue 92 for the full gift guide patterns and plenty more patchwork inspiration!

If you like this How to make luggage tags tutorial, you might also like our five minute crafts ideas or head to our 100 free daily patterns for more ideas to craft yourself for quilting, sewing, knitting and more.

How to make luggage tags – step by step tutorial

Fabric requirements

Two (2) fat eighths of fabric
Clear vinyl: 3⁵/₈in x 3¼in
Medium weight interfacing: 3⁵/₈in x 3¼in

Finished size

4½in x 2⁵/₈in (without the tab)

Notes

Seam allowances are ³/₈in, unless otherwise noted.
Templates include seam allowances, where necessary.
Pattern by Jennie Jones.
RST = right sides together.
WOF = width of fabric.
Download the templates here.

You will need:

Fabric (See fabric requirements)
Sewing machine
Thread
Basic sewing kit

Cutting out

Step 1

From one (1) of the fat eighths cut:

One (1) 4³/₈in x 4in pocket.
One (1) Luggage Tag template.

Step 2

From the second fat eighth cut:

One (1) Luggage Tag template.
One (1) 4in x 2in.

Step 3

From the interfacing cut:

One (1) Aperture template.

Making the pocket

Step 1

Take one 4³/₈in x 4in piece and apply the interfacing to the wrong side, centring the piece. Place the aperture template on the wrong side, and mark the inner and outer rectangles.

Step 2

Trim away the centre, leaving an approx ³/₈in seam allowance along the inner edge. Trim the corners and press the seam allowance to the wrong side. Centre the clear vinyl on the wrong side and stitch around the outer edge. Clip the outer corners and press the seam allowance to the wrong side at the top edge only, topstitching in place.

Luggage Tag Fig A

Making the tag back

Step 1

Take the 4in x 2in strip and fold in half along the long edge so it’s 1in wide. Press, then fold the edges into the centre and press again to make a ½in strip. Topstitch along the edge to secure. Fold in half, matching the raw edges, and press.

Step 2

Pin the two luggage tag pieces right sides RST, sandwiching the loop between them. The loop should be in the centre of the top with the raw edges aligned at the top. Also sandwich the pocket piece, between the layers, aligning edges at the bottom and sides.

Luggage tag Fig B

Step 3

Stitch the outside edges together all the way around but leaving the bottom open. Turn the tag right side out and press.

Step 4

Press the bottom edges inside the tag. Topstitch around the outer edges of the tag to finish.

Love Patchwork & Quilting luggage tag tutorial

Where can I see the rest of the Gift Guide?

Get your hands on a copy of issues 91 and 92 for eleven more speedy stocking filler, you can find it still available as digital issue.

Love Patchwork & Quilting 92 Handmade Gift Ideas

Commissioning Editor, Love Patchwork & Quilting

Quilt pro and wordsmith Lorna has worked for Love Patchwork & Quilting for 4 years. She commissions the beautiful quilts inside the magazine, working with international leading quilt designers and makers to select the hottest quilt trends and modern quilts to share with her readers. If she’s not at work, she’s probably still covered in threads, designing quilt patterns for her small indie biz Cloth & Crescent with a scary film on in the background. Lorna can’t resist a curved quilt block and a solid fabric, and recently discovered the joys of snuggling under a cosy quilt sandwich to hand stitch the layers together the old fashioned way. Her designs and words have been featured in Love Patchwork & Quilting, Mollie Makes, Simply Sewing and In The Moment magazine. Find her on Instagram @clothandcrescent