Hey y’all! Gail here from Sunflower Seams Pattern Co. I am so excited to be on the blog today for Halloween week!
Waterproof Trick or Treat Halloween Bag
I absolutely adore sewing anything holiday-related. I don’t know why, but it just feels so much more fun than regular sewing! Don’t you think?
This year my husband’s work is putting on a trunk-or-treat event for all of the kiddos in his unit so my girls needed some new treat bags. I’m going to walk you through, step by step, how to create your very own drawstring treat bag and how you can make it an easy wipe clean material with HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl.
Supplies Needed:
-
- 2 pieces of fabric cut at 17″ long by 15″ wide (for the body of the bag)
- 2 pieces of fabric cut at 1.5″ long by 15″ wide (for the casing)
- 2 drawstrings cut at 32″ long
- A paintbrush
- Iron
- Pressing Paper
Steps for Sewing the Bag
*NOTE: All seam allowances are 1/4″
- Following the manufacturer’s instructions, apply 1-3 coats of HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl onto your fabric. Use the Thermoweb Pressing Paper between coats to press your fabric as directed.
- Press one long edge of the casing pieces up 1/4″, wrong sides together.
- With right sides together, lay the casing piece over the top of the front bag piece. Align the raw edges and pin/clip in place. Stitch together. Repeat this step with the back bag piece.
- Turn the front bag piece over and press the seam up towards the casing. Repeat this step with the back bag piece.
- Using a serger or zig-zag stitch, finish the edges around the bottom and sides of the front piece. If using a serger do not cut off any excess fabric. Repeat this step with the back bag piece.
- Place the front bag piece and back bag piece right sides together. Starting 2″ from the top folded edge, pin the two pieces together. Stop pinning when you are 2″ from the opposite folded edge. Sew around the outer edges of the bag, making sure to start at the first pin, 2″ from the top, and ending at the last pin, 2″ from the opposite top edge.
- Press the side seams open, making sure to fold the unsewn top edges 1/4″ to the wrong side. Edge stitch along both sides of the seam until you reach where you began sewing in the previous step (approx. 2″ from the top folded edge). Repeat this step with the opposite side.
- Fold the casing down to the wrong side of the bag and press. Pin or clip in place. Topstitch 1/8″ from the folded edge. Repeat this step with the other side.
- Turn the bag right side out. Tack the top of the bag together at the two outer corners. To do this, drop your feed dogs down and use a large zig-zag stitch. Stitch over the same spot 5 or 6 times to secure.
- Attach a safety pin to one end of the drawstring and feed it all the way through the casing. Repeat this step with the 2nd drawstring on the opposite side of the bag. You will have two drawstrings coming through each end.
OPTIONAL: If you’d like to make the drawstring bag as a backpack you can attach the ends of your drawstring at the bottom corners of your bag. To do this, leave an opening when sewing the sides of your bag so that you can insert the drawstring into it after you’ve already threaded the drawstring through the top. Then you can turn the bag the wrong side out and topstitch over the opening to close it. Make sure to backstitch multiple times to secure it tightly.
Now you are done! Happy sewing friends!
xoxo-Gail
