Felt Trick-or-Treat Bag - Doggie Treats!

This is another one of those projects that, when finished, I am absolutely in love with!  I feel like in this particular case, the pictures can't even do it justice.  It is so cute in person!

My youngest daughter LOVES dogs.  So, when we found this doggie Halloween costume a few weeks ago, we knew we had to get it for her.  She loves wearing it already - and she looks adorable.  

Since I didn't get to make her costume, and it doesn't really need any embellishment, I decided that I would make her a candy bag to match.

I made this one a "Doggie Treats" bag --- but you could make it into any kind of treat bag - whatever fits your costume!

A couple of years ago, I made a felt trick-or-treat bag for my older daughter, to match her Oregon Duck Fan outfit.  It was pretty amazing, but I made a couple of improvements from that one when making this one. 
I knew I wanted to make a bag with dog bones on it. My husband told me that it would be funny to call the bag "Doggie Treats" - because of course the bag has Halloween Treats in it
...just a tiny pun.

What I didn't anticipate, and another thing that I really love, is that my dog bones turned out looking like skeleton bones, which makes the pun that tiny bit funnier:)


HERE IS THE TUTORIAL:

I used felt - which I got from the roll at the fabric store.  It is made with recycled bottles, and is pretty thick and sturdy. 

For my bag, I decided to make the outside front and back black, and the inside and sides purple. 

Fabric Needed:

4 - 9"x9" Squares of Felt (outside front and back of bag, plus inside front and back of bag)
2 - 3.5" x 27" rectangles of felt (this long piece becomes the sides and bottom of the bag)
4 - 1.5" x 14" rectangles of felt (these become the handles)
Scraps and pieces for embellishment

I cut 2: 9"x9" squares of black felt, and 2: 9"x9" squares of purple felt.  The bag is made entirely with doubled up felt.

I also cut 2 long pieces of felt, 3.5" wide by 27" long (the same length as the three sides of the square added together).  These pieces become the bottom and sides of the bag. 

You will want to embellish the front and back of your bag before you sew it together.

Whenever I make letters, I start by printing bold letters off on my computer.  Then I cut them out, trace them onto felt, cut the felt out, and sew or fabric glue the letters down. 

Of course, embellish with any design you can think of!

For this bag, I cut white felt to look like skeleton bones.

Embellish the front and back of the bag before sewing the bag together (making sure to leave 1/4" from the edge clear for a seam allowance).

On this bag, I only stitched along the straight part of the bone, as shown.  By leaving the ends un-sewn, it added a very cute 3-D aspect. 

The red lines show where I sewed

If you also want a design on the side of the bag, now is the time to do it.  I did add bones to the ends of one long strip, so that the sides of the bag would be decorated too.

To sew the bag together, take 2 square pieces of felt (one outside piece, and one lining piece) and put them together, right sides out (wrong sides together).  For me, this meant the front of my bag, with one of the purple inside pieces.

Take the 2 long pieces of felt, right sides out (wrong sides together).  Line up the edges, as shown, and them pin them right sides out (wrong sides together).

Before it gets pinned

After it has been pinned, looking at it from the front

After it has been pinned, looking at it from the back

Sew along the edge, using 1/4" seam allowance.  Stop 1/4" from the end.  Note: the seams will be facing OUT. 

Then, pin the bottom edge of the bag to the long strip, right sides out (wrong sides together), and sew along the bottom edge.  Stop 1/4" from the end of the bottom edge.

Finally, pin the 3rd side, right sides out (wrong sides together), and sew with 1/4" seam allowance all the way to the top/end.

Looking at it from the inside

Front and sides sewn together!

Do the same for the other side of the bag.  Pin in place, along all 3 sides (2 sides and bottom) and sew with 1/4" seam allowance.  Again, seams will be facing out.

For the handles: I sandwiched 1 piece of 1" thick grosgrain ribbon between 2 pieces of felt.  I make my felt handles 1.5" x 14" - but you decide how wide and long you want your handles.

Sew across one short edge - catching the ribbon and 2 felt pieces.  Then, sew down the 2 long edges, 1/4" from the edge - keeping the ribbon hidden inside.

To attach the handles to the bag: Put the ends of one handle in between the pieces of felt on one side of the bag, (both ends of the handle go on the same side of the bag), close to the edges/sides of the bag.  Pin them in to hold them in place while you finish sewing.

Once the handles are place, sew the handles down securely, between the 2 pieces of felt that make up the front of the bag. Do this on the front, and the back.  (You can also wait to fortify them as in the picture below until after you have sewn around the entire top of the bag - see next step).

The only thing left to do is to sew the top closed.  Sew all the way around the top of the bag, with 1/4" seam allowance.

Your bag is finished!!

Front and Side

Back



Kids often want to pick out their own costume, so making a trick-or-treat bag gives you the chance to add your own personal touch.  It is easy, fun, and SO ADORABLE!!

Happy Halloween!!

Check out my other versions too:

Toy Story Pizza Planet Bag

Toy Story Etch A Sketch Bag

Harry Potter Bags

Super Mario Brothers Bags

Peter Pan Bags

Frozen Bags

The Emperor's New Groove Bags

I am linking up to:

The CSI Project
Tater Tots and Jello

A Little Lovely
Along for the Ride
Bunch of Scrap
Ain't She Crazy
Under the Table and Dreaming
Craft-O-Maniac
Making the World Cuter
The Creative Itch

Happy Fall Leaf Bunting! (no-sew)

Bunting is so popular right now, and I have wanted to try my hand at it for a while.  I have been mulling over exactly how I wanted it to look though, and finally came up with this idea the other day.  Since I live in New England, I felt that fall leaves would be fitting - because you see vibrant foliage everywhere, and this is a fun representation to have inside the house!


Here is how I did it:
This is the leaf shape, and stem shape - to use as a guide. 
For each leaf, cut a piece of fabric, a piece of heat-n-bond, and piece of felt, each big enough to fit one leaf. 

Apply the heat-n-bond to the wrong side of the fabric according to package directions.  Peel off the backing and iron it to the piece of felt.

Trace the leaf shape onto the felt and cut it out.  (You'll be cutting through the felt, heat-n-bond and fabric that have all been ironed together.)

I chose scraps of yellow, orange, and green fabrics for my leaves, and used orange, brown, tan and green felt for the backs. 

 Cut stems out of stiff brown felt.  (If you are using the phrase "happy fall" you will need 9 leaves and 9 stems)

 Using fabric glue, glue the stems to the back, top of the leaves.

I decided to add decorative stitches to the outside of the leaves.  I used embroidery floss that coordinated with the color of the fabric, and did a running stitch about 1/8" from the edge. 

Using this template, (or any font you choose, enlarged, outline only and printed out), trace the letters onto brown felt and cut them out.

Now, I simply love to use my sewing machine, so I sewed the letters onto the leaves, using matching thread, and sewing as close to the edge as I could.  It didn't take very long, and looks very nice.  However, this can be a completely no-sew project if you use fabric glue to attach the letters.  Either way is great!

Once all the leaves are done, choose a long piece of rick-rack, or colorful ribbon, and glue or sew the stems along it in the correct order - and you are done!

Now, I just have to decide where to put it.  It looks so colorful and festive!  You could even add things like buttons, or raffia, and continue to embellish it!

I am very happy with the way it turned out...I have a feeling I will be making buntings for every season:)

  

  

I'm linking up to:

Craft-o-maniac

All Thingz Related

Making the World Cuter

These Creative Juices

Someday Crafts

Creations by Kara

Sew Much Ado

Somewhat Simple

Funky Junk Interiors

Tater Tots and Jello

Craft-O-Maniac

Making the World Cuter

Ladybug Blessings

Fabric Diaper Holder

I made one of these for myself a long time ago, when my first daughter was born, and I love it.  It keeps the diapers in my diaper bag nicely in one place, and I can grab this holder, along with a package of wipes, right out of the diaper bag when I need it. 

For a little while, after my second daughter was born, I had two babies in diapers:)  I made myself another holder, in entirely different fabric, so that I knew which diapers I was grabbing out of the bag - big or little - based on the color of the diaper holder. 

My cousin just had a baby girl, and I decided to make one for her!

Here is a tutorial on how to make your own diaper holder:

Cut out 4 pieces of fabric using this pattern, 2 of each piece.  You can use 2 different colors of fabric, cut into different combinations for different looking holders. 

1) You can have the front and back of the holder different colors (like the one I make here).

2) You can make the inside and outside of the holder different colors (if so, use a different color fabric for the 2 pieces of the same pattern piece.),

3) You can, of course, make the entire thing with the same fabric.

As I said, I wanted the front and back to be different colors, so I used the same fabric for the larger pattern piece (the back of the holder), and a different fabric for the smaller pattern piece (the front of the holder). 

Take one front piece, and one back piece, and place them right sides together, lining up the bottom curve, as shown.  Do this for both sets. 

Sew along the outside edge, 1/4" seam allowance, on both of the sets. 

IMPORTANT:  Leave a 2" space on the bottom of the set you want to use as the INSIDE of the diaper holder. 

 Turn the piece with the hole in the bottom (the inside piece), right side out.  Then, tuck it inside the other piece, lining up the top edge.  Right sides will be together. 

 Sew along the top and side straight edges, as shown in the picture below:

 Now comes the slightly tricky part.  You need to sew this entire part closed, but there is an interesting curve at the corner.  Open it along the side and lay it flat.  Then, continue the same line that you used to sew the top and sides (in the picture above) and round the corner to the front edge. 

 Sew all along the front edge, and round the other curve to meet up with the edge again.  Your entire top, along all 4 edges, will be completely sewn shut. 

 Now, pull the inner piece of fabric out, so you can see the hole in the bottom. 

 Pull the entire thing through the hole, so that the holder is right side out:

 Sew the hole shut:

 Tuck the half that you just sewed shut into the other half as shown:

 Sew a strip of velcro to the top of the flap, and to the spot it will meet on the holder when it is shut.  Be sure not to make it too tight!  When the diaper holder is full of diapers, the flap will not go down as far. 

 Fill with diapers, and toss it in your bag! 

 This is a great handmade gift, and can be made for girl or boy - just adjust the color of the fabric!