Melissa started this tradition of home-made trick or treat bags back in '04 and since then, the girls have had special one-of-a-kind bags to match their costumes. This year I've had a few people ask me how to make them (who am I kidding? It was just one person....) so I figured a tutorial was in order...
You'll need:
- 4 pieces of 9x12 felt to make the base of the bag. Felt can be bought at Walmart, Michael's, Beverly's, etc. for about .39 cents a sheet.
- Embroidery thread (2) in a contrasting color, needle
- a sewing machine/thread
- tacky glue
- scissors
- glitter
- ruler or tape measure
Sketch out a plan of what you'd like your bag to look like.....
To make the base of the bag you'll need 4 pieces of felt.I chose to make Paige's bag entirely of one color (light pink)......
Leave 2 pieces of felt whole. Cut the 3rd piece of felt into 3, 3 inch strips. Cut one strip at 9 inches. These strips will be the sides and bottom of the bag....
Sew the 2 whole sheets and the 2, 3x9 inch strips together to make the front/sides of the bag....
Take the 3x9 inch strip and sew it to bottom (making the base of the bag)...
which will then look like this....
Turn the bag, right-side-out and hem the top of the bag 1/4 of an inch (folding it in)...

Cut 2, 2 1/2 inch strips from the fourth piece of felt, to make the handles...
Hem both sides of each handle 1/4 of an inch....
Sew each handle to one side of the bag....
Getting the base of the bag together takes about 10 minutes (including cutting/sewing)
Now comes the fun part....Depending on your costume, you can make an applique of sorts...
I chose to make Glinda's crown for Paige. I sketched a simple crown on cardstock, cut it out, and traced it onto a white piece of felt.
which was then glued to the front of the bag....
outlined with glue and then glittered....
I used a chipboard star and a strip of glittered felt to make Glinda's wand...
Wrote Paige's name in glue and then glittered that as well...
For Ally's Dorothy bag, I used a different technique (the basic bag is the same)...
I made a yellow brick road (sorry Dad,I'm missing the masonry gene)....
Temporarily put the the bricks down with glue(BEWARE..if you're planning on stitching details on the front or back of the bag.... do this BEFORE putting your bag together) and stitched an outline...
followed the same template idea for the shoes, and the name...
and then stitched the seams with contrasting embroidery thread (this is really just to give it a fun finished look)...
and wa-la! Personalized trick-or-treat bags for 2009....
Here are some from years past.....
The original bags...Melissa used ribbon for the handles and contrasting colors for the sides...
This boot was also made by Melissa...I love that it's in the shape of a boot (although much harder to do), and has the handkerchief for the sides and handles...
Ryder's bag (also made by Melissa- seriously, this was my all-time-favorite-costume).....
Melissa made this butterfly bag too...you can't really tell, but she sewed a 3-D butterfly in the center..
My first attempt.....
Kelly's bag that she made for Aubrey last year (she was smart enough to sew the giraffe spots BEFORE putting the bag together)
Last years bags......
So there you have it, simple and fun personalized trick-or-treat bags. I'm hoping that a few of you will try 'em out and make them this year....Christy? Brianne? Karen? Holly? Michele? Marcia? Kristy? Kirsten? Tiana? If you do, send me a picture and I'll add it to this post..... Happy Crafting!!!!!!