Croft Mill

Halloween Fabric Crafts: How to Make a Trick-or-Treat Bag

Trick-or-treating is a popular Halloween custom and the shops will soon be filled with bags ready for kids to receive a bounty of sweet treats! It's much more fun to create a unique, home-made bag rather than buy one from the shop and, in this edition of the Croft Mill blog, we'll give you a step-by-step guide on how to sew one.

Pennywise The Clown- Craft Cotton - Halloween - Fabric- B

You will need:

13" x 28" piece of main fabric

13 x 28" piece of lining fabric

Two pieces of 3" x 18" fabric for the straps

  1. Start by making the straps. Fold one piece of strap fabric in half along its length with right sides together. With a 1/4" seam allowance, use straight stitches to sew along the long side. Turn the strap right side out and press flat with an iron. Finish by sewing a row of edge stitches on both sides near to the fold. Repeat to create the second strap.
  2. Now for the bag. Fold the main piece of fabric in half with right sides together. Starting from the top of the bag and giving a 1/2" seam allowance, sew the side seam with straight stitches. Repeat on the opposite side. Clip the corners diagonally and then press the seams with an iron.
  3. Repeat the above step with the lining fabric but leave an opening of 3" on one side at the bottom of the seam: this will be used later to turn the bag right side out. 
  4. With the bag right side out, pin the raw edge of one strap to the top about 2.5" from one side seam. Being careful not to twist, pin the other raw strap edge to the top of the main fabric piece. Repeat for the second strap. 
  5. Now it's time to join the outer piece with the lining. With right sides together, slip the main fabric into the lining fabric, matching the side seams together. Pin the main body to the lining, ensuring that all raw edges are aligned. Using a 1/2" seam allowance, stitch all the way around the top edge, removing each pin as you go. 
  6. Reach into the hole at the bottom of the lining and pull the main bag fabric out through the opening you created previously. Then close the opening by folding raw edges to the inside and stitching near to the edge. Push the lining into the bag and use an iron to press the top edge.
  7. Finish by using top stitches all the way round the bag's top.

We have added a new 'Halloween Fabrics' section to our website, with 50+ different options to choose from. Have a happy Halloween!

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