Treat Sacks - A Bullet Point Tutorial

We don't get a ton of trick-or-treaters anymore. We get so few, as a matter of fact, that it's almost not worth it to even turn on the porch light anymore. We do have a few kids on the block, though, that my mom always gives a little something extra to. I was in a very Halloweeny mood this afternoon, so I whipped up a couple candy-corn inspired sacks for her to fill and give.

I say "whipped up" like I didn't spend the first hour trying to be all clever and fancy with something that ended up in the trash, ultimately. You see, I was going to make these with french seams and no lining (but no raw edges either). But when I got to the drawstring part I kind of got all "$%^#&# this!" and started over. I ended up using the method I used in this tutorial here (but without a flat bottom, and with one drawstring instead of 2). Now these I can say I whipped up without it being a lie.

If you want to make a few I wrote down the measurements and some simple directions for you below--it would be helpful to read through this tutorial for the basics and pictures (I didn't take any for this one because sometimes I'm just dumb :) I used one fat quarter each of yellow and orange, and two of white. I also used about  18 inches of piping cord each for my drawstring (but you could use ribbon or bias tape, too).

• Cut 2 six-inch by three-inch strips of each color. Sew them together (as in the picture above) using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Press seams open.
• On one of the outside pieces, mark two dots near one of the top side edges--one will be a half-inch from the top, and the second will be three-quarters of an inch below that. That's for the drawstring hole.
• Put the 2 outsides right sides together. Sew the bottom and side seams using a 1/4 inch seam allowance--make sure you don't sew between the dots you made or the drawstring won't be able to escape.
• For your lining cut 2 pieces that are six-inches by 7 1/2 inches. Sew the bottom and side seams. This time I left a 3-inch gap in the lining for turning (instead of along the top edge as you'll see in the tutorial).
• Put the outside into the lining, right sides together. Pin around the top edge and sew all the way around.
• Reach through the gap in the lining and turn everything right side out. Sew the gap in the lining shut, tucking the raw edges inside.
• Tuck the lining down inside the bag. Neaten it up around the top edge, and stitch a row of top-stitching about 1/8 inch from the top edge.
• Make another row of top-stitching about one inch from the top edge.
• Feed your drawstring through the hole, all the way around and back out. Knot the ends together.
• Stuff with your favorite kiddos' favorite treats!

These would look cute in prints for a patchwork effect, or in completely different fabrics for some simple striped bags. They would also make super-cute treat sacks for Christmas. If you make some add them to the Flickr group (link in the sidebar) so we can all have a look-see!

And if you have some candy corn colored scraps left, don't forget--you can always stitch up a few softies!

Happy sewing!