Almost all kids have those favorite Halloween candies that make their eyes light up. These sturdy, reusable 2-compartment treat bags let kids separate the wheat from the chaff, for easier bingeing on the best stuff later!
Using adhesive felt letters makes this project quick and easy… a boon if you’re already busy sewing costumes. The bright orange exterior fabric makes them look a bit like pumpkins, while the candy corn lining and handle fabric reflects what they’re really all about!
Here’s what you’ll need:
-Free pattern (Click to download)
–Candy corn pattern cotton fabric
–Lightweight fusible interfacing
–Heavyweight sew-in interfacing
–Orange general-purpose thread
-Adhesive 1-inch felt letters in black and white (You will need 2 bags of the black in order to have enough of the letters you need!)
Here’s what you do:
1. Cut pattern pieces as follows:
-4 “Bag” pieces from outer (orange) fabric
-4 “Bag” pieces from lining (candy corn) fabric
-4 “Bag” pieces from lightweight fusible interfacing
-2 “Handle” pieces from lining fabric
-2 “Handle interfacing” pieces from heavyweight sew-in interfacing
-1 “Divider” piece from lining fabric
-1 “Divider interfacing” piece from heavyweight sew-in interfacing
Note that all pattern pieces include a 3/8” seam allowance. Except where otherwise indicated, sew all pieces with a 3/8” seam.
2. Sew handles by folding and pressing each “handle” piece of lining fabric ¼ inch from each long edge, pressing wrong sides together.
3. Place each “handle interfacing” piece on wrong side of the “handle” fabric pieces so that it is tucked under one pressed & folded edge. Fold and press other edge around interfacing, so that only finished edges and right side of fabric are visible. Sew a straight stitch down both sides, about 1/8 inch from each long edge.
4. Iron the 4 “bag” pieces of lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the 4 “bag” pieces of outer (orange) fabric. Sew the side seams of the fused “bag” pieces to each other in pairs, i.e. sew 1 piece to a 2nd piece (right sides together) along a side seam, and then sew the 3rd piece to the 4th piece in the same manner, so that you have 2 joined “bag” pieces like the one pictured below. (Please note that I used some old red plaid fabric and an extra-lightweight adhesive as a stabilizer instead of interfacing because that’s what I had around.)
5. Sew the two joined pieces together by placing them right sides together and sewing along the entire curve of the side seams, so that you end up with an entire inside-out outer bag, as shown below.
6. Turn the outer bag right side out and pin the handles in place, i.e. the 2 ends of each handle about ¼ inch in from the outside seams of each of 2 opposite bag pieces/sides, positioned so that their raw edges line up with the raw edges of the outer bag.
7. Fold the “divider” piece of lining (candy-corn) fabric in half, wrong sides together, so that it is the same shape as the “divider interfacing” piece of heavyweight sew-in fabric. Place the “divider interfacing” piece in between the layers and topstitch across the top (folded) edge.
8. As with the outer bag, sew the side seams of the lining pieces to each other in pairs, right sides together, so that you end up with 2 pieces that are each joined along one side seam (like the one shown below). Then, as with outer bag, sew the two joined pieces together by placing them right sides together and sewing along the entire curve of the side seams.
9. Place the divider inside the inner (lining) bag you have just sewn, so that the top (topstitched) edge lies about an inch below the top (raw) edges of the lining bag and the entire curved (raw) edge of the divider touches the inside of the bag where it bisects 2 opposite side pieces.
10. Pin the divider where you have placed it, pinching the inner bag on both sides of it as necessary, and sew in place.
11. Keep the inner bag wrong side out and stuff the outer bag (still right side out) inside it, matching up the seams. (This will be a bit tricky because of the divider, but just be sure that the top seams match up and don’t worry about the rest of the bag.) Pin at the seams around the top edge.
12. Sew around the top edge, doubling back over the handles for extra stability and leaving an approximately 4-inch-wide section unsewn.
13. Pull the entire bag, inner and outer, through the gap in the seam so that it is right side out. (Please note that the letters are already on because I put them on a piece before sewing everything… which I do not recommend! Better to leave it to the last as in these instructions, as all the pulling and yanking tends to loosen them.)
14. Push the inner bag into the outer bag, smoothing and smushing all around until it looks like what it is: a lining with a divider cutting across the middle of the bag.
15. Press the top edge and then topstitch it, about 1/8 inch from the edge.
16. Now it’s time to add the letters! Smooth and smush one side of the bag so that it’s fairly flat and stick on the letters, using a ruler if you like to make the lines straight. I liked the look of them evenly spaced and in neat rows, but you could also go for the “kooky/childish” look and place them less precisely. Once you finish one side (with “The good stuff,” all in black), flatten and stick letters on the opposite side (with “The really good stuff,” all in black except “really” in white).
And that’s it, you’re done! Have a happy Halloween, and don’t forget to make your kids brush their teeth extra-thoroughly when the gorging is all over!
The post Sew It Yourself: Multi-Compartment Halloween Treat Bags appeared first on The Stitch - Hancock Fabrics.
