Today I’m going to show you how to make these cute Candy Corn favor bags–but even if you don’t like Halloween decor and sewing, keep your mind open to the possibilities of these being cute little Christmas or birthday giftbags, favor bags for a quilting retreat filled with sewing notions, etc., easy favor bags for a child’s birthday party…. Just like my reversible tablecloth tutorial, the options are endless!

 

• I used 9″ x 12″ pieces of felt from the local craft store (Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn Fabrics)
• Rick-rack to match your felt/fabric (I used Wrights Canary (#086) and Orange (#058)
• Ribbon for your drawstring (I used a printed “Happy Halloween” ribbon from Michael’s)

1.  Cut your yellow (bottom) strip 2.5″ wide, your orange (middle) strip 3″ wide, and your white (top) strip 3″ wide.  You should be able to get four strips from each piece of felt.  Cut a piece of yellow rick-rack and a piece of orange rick-rack slightly longer than the length of your strips (I cut mine 9 1/4″)

2.  Set your sewing machine to zig-zag stitch, wide enough to tack your rick-rack down while catching both strips of fabric/felt.  Abutt your two pieces of felt up against one another…

Place your rick-rack down the center of your seam, and zig-zag all three together.  Repeat with your white felt (top) strip and orange rick-rack along other side of orange strip.

3.  Cut your 3-strip piece in half, lengthwise, and trim excess rick-rack from edge.  Also, cut two pieces of 9″ ribbon for your drawstring.

4.  At your sewing machine, switch off the zig-zag, and set your seam to straight stitch.  Lay your ribbon face down (if it has a “right” side) against the ” inside” side of your bag, approx. 1/2″ down from top:

Fold a 1/2″-5/8″casing down over the ribbon and sew a straight seam along edge of casing.

When you turn it over, it will look like this:

4.  Right sides of bag facing, match up the outer edges of your bag and sew around the outer edge, starting at your casing seam line and continuing down the side, along the bottom edge, and up the second side, stopping again at your casing seam line.   (Do not sew through your drawstring/ribbon!)

 

 

5.  Before turning right side out, clip your corners.  NOTE: I sew a slight curve on my corner seam, rather than a sharp 90 degree angle, this makes a sharper corner on the outside once the felt is turned:

6.  Tie the ends of your drawstrings/ribbons together to finish your favor bag:

Fill with candy, treats, jelly beans, popcorn, pretzels, sewing notions, toys, etc…. NOTE:  I reversed my yellow and orange rick-rack on one bag to see what the contrast looked like–you could use any trims and ribbons or colors and have a wide variety of bag designs!  ENJOY!

Remember, Blogtoberfest and my Halloween Party continue until October 31st, so comment on any and all posts to qualify for the giveaways.   

This week’s giveaway includes an American Jane pattern, a spool of Nature’s Rainbow thread, and 5 fat quarters of Lizzy Dish fabric from Andover.  (Followers of my blog automatically get an extra entry):

Happy Halloween and an awesome October!