Ski Sweater Drawstring Gift Box Mini Tutorial

I have a thing for ski sweaters - a cosy and comforting  motif. So, in addition to yesterday's dinky cubes, here are some drawstring gift boxes. The top closure forms a pretty star shape. This project would be thoughtful gift packaging for a knitting or crochet enthusiast, or it would make an ideal container for a small handmade item - like a pair of gloves or mittens.

There are two different co-ordinating colour combos. You can place the boxes side-by-side and the jumpers form a continuous repeat. Cool.

I have embossed the folds with a Silhouette Curio machine, but I also provide .pdf files for those of you who haven't yet gone digital.

Here are your free printables:
SkiSweaterDrawstringBoxA.pdf 
SkiSweaterDrawstringBoxB.pdf 
SkiSweaterDrawstringBoxC.pdf 

SkiSweaterDrawstringBox.studio3 

For each gift box, you need:
3 pieces of photocopier card
45cm (18in) of 3mm(1/8in)-wide ribbon; tapestry needle
2 seed beads; sewing needle, thread 
Craft thread
Double-sided tape and/or PVA tacky glue

To score by hand:
Fine embossing tool, small metal ruler

To make up:
1 Print the design and cut out the box pieces. For each box you need two body pieces and a base. (The reinforcements are optional.) 

If cutting out with a Silhouette Curio, turn on the registration marks and print out the box body. (Pic below shows box on cutting mat).

Next, slide the cutting mat on top of the box body, with edges aligned. Use Advanced cutting - cut by colour. Emboss the blue lines with the fine embossing tool (pic below). 

Next, cut out the box body (purple lines, ratchet blade). Repeat for the remaining box body piece. Cut out the box base and the tags by standard cutting method.

If cutting out by hand - cut out with scissors and mark the fold lines with an embossing tool held against a metal ruler.

2 Pic above shows how to piece the two body pieces. Glue reinforcments over the holes on the wrong side before joining together to make a ring. Crease all the folds. Mountain folds at the peaks, valley folds in between.

3 Glue (or tape) the tabs onto the base to complete the box (see pic above).

4 Using a tapestry needle, lace the ribbon through the holes. Thread a bead on to each ribbon end. There's a trick to this. Thread a sewing needle with sewing thread and stitche through the ribbon end. Re-thread both thread ends through the needle, then pass through the hole in the seed bead. You can now slide the seed bead up the ribbon.
Tie a knot below the bead and trim the ribbon end. I seal the ribbon tails with a smidge of PVA glue applied with a cocktail stick.

5 The gift tag is tied on to the drawstring using a bit of craft thread.

Enlarge the pattern pieces to make bigger boxes. If using the Silhouette Curio, the long base will be required for bigger box sizes.