Learn how to make your very own trick or treat bags with a few simple steps... read more
If you’re anything like us and love some seasonal festivities then you will want to keep on reading as we have got the gorgeous Rachel from The Ordinary Lovely showing us how to make our very own trick or treat bags!
When I bought my first sewing machine a couple of years ago, I had extremely fancy plans to basically make anything and everything, from cushion covers to curtains, and potentially even clothes.
Plans are amazing, aren’t they?
What I didn’t factor in was the sheer amount of time and effort it would take to reach a standard whereby my hems are no longer wonky and my seams are sewed in a semi-straight line. Two years on and my skills are still around a seven-year old’s school project standard. I have a lot to learn.
These super simple, sew-your-own trick or treat bags are not to encourage you to cut corners or cut short your sewing machine education. Instead, they’re a little project that requires only basic skills but will leave you with a professional-looking, finished product. We all need a proud ‘I made that’ moment to encourage to keep on learning, don’t we? And these bags will give you exactly that.
How to:
To make these autumnal trick or treat bags on your sewing machine, you will need,
1 x tea towel (this set of two fox tea towels is perfect)
1 x curtain tieback or length of cord
Pair of scissors
Sewing needle I know, I know, what crazy person makes a bag out of a tea towel when Laura Ashley has such a beautiful range of fabrics? Novice sewers, that’s who! Trust me, on this. In ten minutes, you’ll have transformed these day to day items into something quite lovely.
Here’s what you need to do (and please forgive me for not knowing the official sewing lingo; I am but a self-taught beginner):
Take your tieback and fold the top of the tea towel over it – this is to make sure that you leave an appropriate gap for the tieback to slide through at the end – and then quickly run an iron over the crease.
Sew the fold down as close as possible to the original hem.
Once you’ve cut the thread, take a needle and push the length of cotton on the main side of the tea towel through to the back.
Tie the two lengths of cotton in a knot to secure and then trim the ends.
Repeat 1-4 with the bottom end of the tea towel.
Fold the tea towel in half with the main print facing inwards and the two sewn, folded ends at the top. Sew each side, from just below the fold to the bottom and repeat steps 3-4 with the remaining lengths of cotton.
Turn the tea towel the right way around and thread the tieback through the gaps at the top.
Depending on the tieback you choose, you may need to ruche the fabric to pull it though.
There you have it. A super simple, sew-your-own trick or treat/autumn-inspired bag. It’s perfect for collecting sweets, treats, conquers, and leaves.
Put them to use:
Swap the foxes for a more festive-themed tea towel and you could make a nice alternative to the traditional Christmas stocking. The possibilities are endless. Who would’ve thought that the humble tea towel mixed with a pom pom tieback could make something so pretty, right?
And here are my two little boys putting their new bags to the test … well, one little boy as the other was too busy hiding behind the tree and eating treats to be photographed. (find these adorable doorstops here)
Will you be making your own trick or treat bags this Halloween? Let us know how you do it below or @LauraAshleyUK