Handmade Halloween Felt Bag

Equip your trick-or-treater with an easy felt candy bag.

At Halloween time, every kid needs a trick-or-treat bag to store all their yummy Halloween loot. Felt bags are great for this, since they're colorful, inexpensive and also quick and simple to make. Whether you need one bag or several, there are different ways to make quick and simple felt bags for this year's Halloween festivities.

Ribbon Woven Bag

Place two equally sized pieces of felt on top of each other. Use a craft knife to cut short, horizontal slits on the two sides of the felt pieces and short vertical slits along the bottom. Weave the ribbon in and out of the slits to bind the two pieces together. Tie the ends together to make the strap.

Sewn Pumpkin Bag

For this you'll need two pieces of orange felt roughly 10 by 14 inches. Fold a piece of paper in half. Draw a pattern on the paper of a half circle that dips down slightly in the middle (at the paper fold), roughly the size of the felt pieces. Cut out the pattern and unfold it to get your pumpkin. Stack the felt, pin the pattern to both pieces of felt and cut the pattern out. Pin eyes, mouth and nose pieces to a piece of black felt and cut them out. Glue or sew the face pieces to one piece of felt (the side that hasn't been traced on). Take a length of ribbon and pin each end to the top of the faceless felt piece for a handle. Sew the ribbon ends in place. Stitch the edges of both felt pieces together about 1/4 inch from the edge, leaving an opening at the top.

Decorations

To decorate, use stencils or printed pattern shapes out of black felt and glue them to the bags. Combine shapes to make scenes, such as a witch on a broom, a scary tree, some stars or a full moon. You can also use glitter or puff paint of Halloween characters to embellish the edges of the shapes or to write names. You can also let your kids decorate their own bags.

Storage

The bags can be reused to avoid having to make the same ones every year. Store the bags in a paper bag and mark it clearly with black marker. Store the paper bag in a location you can easily remember for next year.

References

• Country Living: Handmade Halloween Craft Ideas
• Home Sewing Association: Pumpkin Trick-or-Treat Bag