simple felt trick-or-treat bags: templates and tutorial

As promised, here are the templates and instructions for making my simple felt trick-or-treat bags.  They really are easy, and unless you have to crank out 25 (like me), you should have plenty of time to make them before Halloween.  Hooray!

First I'll show you how to construct the basic bag. 

Main bag piece: 11 x 20 inches felt
Handle pieces:  (2) 12 x 1 inches felt or ribbon
To make the felt handles extra sturdy, cut two pieces of felt 12 x 1 inches and sew them together.  A simple seam down either side will do.  To clarify, cut four total 12 x 1 felt pieces for each bag, and sew two sets together, creating two 12 inch handles.

1.  With your main bag piece laying flat, pin your handles to the inside of the fabric (on the 11-inch side), approximately 2 inches in from the side, and overlapping the edge approximately 1 inch (as pictured below).

 2.  Sew the handle to the bag.  Repeat with the other handle.

3.  Decorate the front of the bag.  Templates and more details on each bag can be found further down this post.

4.  Fold the main bag piece, right sides together, lining up the side and top edges.  Sew a 3/8 inch side seam (about the width of your presser foot) on each side.

5.  Square off the bottom of the bag:  Match the side seam to the bottom fold of the bag, creating a triangle. With the open seam at the middle to lay flat, mark a line at the 2 1/2 inch wide point.  Sew a seam across the marked line and trim off the triangle, leaving about a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Repeat with other side.

It will look like this:

 6.  Turn the bag right-side out and revel in the cuteness.

Now that we have the bag basics down, let's talk about the different variations:

The pumpkin is pretty straight-forward.  Follow the instructions above, using the jack-o-lantern face template provided.  I added a strip of green ric-rac across the top of the front of the bag (you'll need 11 inches), and then sewed a leaf on top.  The leaf was top-stitched for added detail.

For the frankenstein bag, I used buttons for the eyes, and ric rac for the eyebrow (about 4 inches long).  You could substitute felt for both details.  For the neck bolt, cut out the 3 x 1 inch felt strip and fold it in half before sewing to the bag.   I placed the neck bolts 6 1/2 inches down from the top of the bag.  Make sure you pin them facing inward (the cut edge will line up with the bag's edge), so when you turn the bag right side out, the bolts will stick out.

The bat bag has a slightly different shape because I tapered the main bag piece 1 inch on either side (starting from midway up the side of the folded main piece) to give it a rounder appearance.  Otherwise, construction is the same.  Ric rac was added to the handles for a little extra color, and the mouth was stitched on with contrast colored thread.  Buttons for the eyes.  The wings are a single layer of felt, but you could make it a double layer for added stability (they are a little floppy).  Use the template piece from the jack-o-lantern nose for the bat's ears.

Click on the images below to download the pdf templates:

Happy trick-or-treating.  :)

car party favor bags

The Riley Blake Wheels fabric collection is probably one of my all time favorite lines of fabric.  It is getting harder to find yardage these days, but I have a big stash of fat quarters on hand ... and it just happens to be the world's perfect fabric for Oscar's car party.

We are keeping this party very small, so with only a handful of kids coming, I had time to sew cute favor bags.  They are the world's easiest drawstring bag filled with a few little goodies (car crayons, a matchbox car, some stickers and a thank you note - inspired by this favor box at Blonde Designs Blog).

Dana has a fab tutorial for a drawstring bag, the Hobo Sack, on her blog, MADE.  I do mine differently, but the end result is essentially the same.  Maybe I'll show you how I make mine someday, but not today.  Today you can learn from Dana.  :) I have more party planning to do!

p.s.  if you are looking for yards of Wheels fabric, check etsy.  I found some at Fernandina Fibers.

simple felt trick-or-treat bags

Oscar is having a double Halloween birthday party with his little friend, Audrey.   It has been a lot of fun to plan, especially since I have a friend to work with (double the mom-power!).   We have been busily sewing felt trick or treat bags as party favors.  Here are the first three prototypes:

So far, we have a little army of pumpkin bags assembled, and the Frankenstein bags (my personal favorite) are all cut out, ready to be sewn next. 

These bags are ridiculously easy to make, and I'm putting together some templates for you ... they will definitely (probably, maybe) be ready sometime this week.  How's that for a vote of confidence?  Blogging is getting harder and harder by the day - Oscar doesn't nap in the afternoon anymore, I'm exhausted by the end of each day, and have thoughts of newborn preparations looming over my head (less than 6 weeks to go!).   You understand, right?  Thanks :)

UPDATE:  Find the templates and tutorial HERE

ballerina tote bag

I love giving handmade gifts to little kids because, 1) they are easy to please, and 2) my kids are super proud to give gifts that "my mommy made!"  This little tote bag went to a ballet-loving four-year-old for her birthday.

No tutorial for the bag, but it is similar in construction to my Spring Tote, substituting rick rack for piping in the top seam and the handles are sewn into the seam instead of wrapping around the outside.  I love making tote bags because they are so simple.  I don't even measure my fabric most of the time.  Cut two longish rectangles of fabric and you're good to go.  :)  Yes, I am that lazy.

The ballerina girl was inspired by the felt paper dolls at Love, Charla Anne (I dare you to click over to her blog and spend less than an hour exploring its lovely contents).  And happy news ... the pattern for her adorable dollhouse and dolls is being released in her etsy shop this week.  You better believe it is going on my to-make list for Christmas.  Ruby is going to flip.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun stitching up this ballerina girl and adding little details.  To make the skirt, I cut a long rectangle of tulle and gathered it up using a basting stitch.  When it was the same width as her leotard, I top stitched over the gathering.  The flower at her waist was made using teeny tiny rick rack and this flower tutoral at Ucreate.

grocery bag dispenser

hi friends...

I'm down in Virginia, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a sweet baby nephew. Just wanted to recommend a lovely tutorial over at Make It and Love It (great blog!).

I like to re-use shopping bags, and for a long time, my broom closet has looked like this:

But now it looks like this:
Yay! Much better. This tutorial was easy, fast, and so functional. She has oodles of other fab tutorials as well.

Have a great weekend!

the spring tote goes all trendy

Have you jumped on the chevron wagon yet?  I found this great chevron print fabric at Fabric.com and knew it was meant for a tote bag.  There is something about spring that gets me sewing these tote bags (which is probably why I named my tutorial the Spring Tote).

 

For an easy way to add a pocket to the outside of your tote, simply line a pocket up between the straps.  For this pocket, I measured the distance between the straps, and added a little extra so there would be some overlap.  I finished the bottom seam and added bias tape to the top.  You don't really need to finish the side seams, because they will be sewn under the straps.  

Pin the pocket in place and sew the bottom seam to the bag.  Then place your straps, and sew according to the spring tote tutorial, making sure the sides of the pocket get caught in the strap seam.

I usually add inside pockets these days as well.  You can do giant pockets that are sewn into the side seams, or small pockets, like I added here.  A little bias trim on the pocket adds a nice bit of contrast.

Have you made a spring tote?  If so, I'd love to see a picture in the Flickr group!

mama's night out clutch

Last night I went out with a bunch of mama's from Oscar's playgroup.  And I realized beforehand that I don't have any bags that aren't a diaper bag, tote bag, or something else large enough to accommodate sippy cups and goldfish crackers.

So ... I made this little clutch using the Scrappy Clutch tutorial at From an Igloo.

It was a quick (like during nap time quick) and easy project - my favorite kind!   The only change I made was to pleat the bottom of the bag instead of gathering it, because my lining fabric was too thick and refused to be gathered.

It is a wee bag that will only hold the essentials, but it was such a relief to not lug a big bag out the door!  I think I like it as a clutch and love it as a make-up bag.   I'm going to try again with something of my own design, longer, maybe narrower, and this time I think I'll cut my fabric more thoughtfully so the pattern lines up nicely (duh).

In a bit of non-craft business, can I just rave about Santa Barbara for a moment?  Oscar and I were at the park today when I spotted a little meadow, chock-full of yellow daisies.  It spoke to me.  It said, "come over here and frolic and take pictures of your adorable son!"  So I did, and it was kind of great.

And then on the drive home, I saw the strawberry van that is always parked on the side of the road with a sign that says, "Picked Today!" and couldn't pass it up.  I really like living in the center of the strawberry-growing universe.

p.s. sorry to those of you living in winter wonderlands.  :)

spring tote tutorial

Tote bags are an easy and satisfying sewing project, and can also be a quick project if you are using pre-cut fabric, like tea towels. For this bag, I used a set of Orla Keily towels from Target (no longer available, unfortunately).

Materials needed:

• two tea towels (one for the outside of the bag, one for the lining) OR two pieces of fabric cut to 20x30 inches
  
• 3 yards of coordinating 1 inch wide belting
• measuring tape
  
• fusible fleece interfacing (Pellon)
  
• 1 package of coordinating piping

Project time: 2 hours or less

1. Using a seam ripper, take out the seams of both towels and press. If you want to make this a super-fast project, you can skip this step and leave the seams in. I have made the bag both ways with good results. However, I found it to be much easier to sew the bag after taking the original towel seams out (fewer layers of fabric to get through).

After I took out the seams and pressed the fabric, I trimmed it to square off the corners.

2. Iron the fusible fleece interfacing to the towel you'll be using as the bag's outer fabric, following the manufacturer's instructions (again, this is optional, and will simply make it stiffer and not so floppy).


3. Lay the 3 yard piece of belting out flat. Join the ends using a zig zag stitch (go over it several times) to form one continuous loop, taking care to not twist the belting.


4. Lay the loop of belting on top of the outer fabric. If you are using the same towel as me, you can follow the line of the fabric pattern to figure out the belting placement. I counted four flowers in from each side (see below). If you are using a different fabric, the belting was placed 5 3/4 inches in from each side.

Adjust the loop so that the seam where you joined the belting is directly in the center of the fabric (this will put it at the bottom of the bag where it is not noticeable). Measure the straps on either side and adjust until they are of equal lengths (approximately 23 1/2 inches).

5. Pin the belting in place. Leaving about a 1/2 inch space on each end of the fabric (see photo below - this leaves room to sew in the piping in step 10), sew down each side of the two strips of belting.

6) Fold fabric in half, right side together, matching top and side raw edges - pin in place.

7) Stitch sides of bag using 5/8 inch seam.

8. Square off bottom of the tote: match side seam to bottom fold (it will form a triangle). Stitch across 2 inches down from point (it will be 4 inches across). Repeat for other side and trim off excess.


9. Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 with the lining fabric, leaving a 6 inch opening in the middle of one side. This is important - you won't be able to turn the bag right side out if you don't leave an opening.

10. Pin piping to the outer bag fabric, lining up both raw edges. Start the piping behind one of the straps to hide it. Overlap at the joint and cut off the excess piping.

11. Sew piping in place using a coordinating thread color, or one that will show up well on the back side of the fabric -you'll want to be able to see it clearly so you can follow the stitch line.

12. With right sides together, place the outer bag fabric inside the lining fabric. Match raw edges and pin.

13. Sew the bag and lining together, following the stitch line from the piping.

13. Almost done! Turn the bag right side out through the opening in the lining. Hand stitch the lining closed.

14. Press bag for a cleaner look and enjoy!


I used two sets of these towels and had enough fabric to add inner pockets to the bag, as well as make a coordinating wipes case and changing pad:

spring tote

Sorry for the long absence - Oscar and I took a trip to St. Louis to visit my family. It was so great to have unlimited access to fabric stores and Target. Have you seen the Orla Kiely line? I LOVE it. I saw the dishtowel set and immediately thought, "That would make a great tote!"


I used the second towel (the solid blue) as the liner. I'm kind of in love with it - makes me long for springtime.

Now that I'm looking around Target's website, I'm thinking this DwellStudio dishtowel set would also make a great bag.

UPDATE: Click here for the tutorial (also located on the sidebar)

For the bag, you just need two towels (one set). However, if you buy a second set, you will have plenty of fabric to add an inside pocket, as well as a coordinating changing pad and wipes case.

chevron bow clutch

I'm experiencing a rare moment where all my children are sleeping (huzzah!), so here's to having a few minutes of uninterruped computer time (insert sigh of relief here).

I saw this little clutch on Pinterest and it jumped to the top of my to-sew list.  The tutorial can be found over at blog Elm Street Life, and since this is the first sewing tutorial Whitney's ever written, I think it is safe to say we will see fabulous things from her.

This one was for my friend's birthday, and now have a bit of bag envy (there's a lot of that going on around here lately.  I recently made Ruby a purse and have severe bag envy.  Nothing that can't be remedied).

The only small changes I made were to add zipper end tabs (a la noodlehead), and add a little inside pocket.  I made a second one in different fabric and left off the bow - big mistake.  The bow makes it 10,000 times cuter.  Trust me.

That's all for today!  Hope you're having a happy Tuesday.