Halloween Trick-or-Treat Bags

By Kate Riley October 31, 2012

There’s something I’m very guilt ridden about and need to get off my chest.  Last year I failed to adequately prepare my elementary school children with the proper equipment for the intense and aggressive Pursuit of Sugar otherwise known as traditional Trick-or-Treating on Halloween night.  

Last year, we were invited to an event where a large group of kids excitedly gathered up together to go running door to door for two hours to collect candy from willing neighbors.   As mine ran out the door I handed them a paper bag but by the end of their intense Pursuit of Sugar, the paper bags were ripped and torn proving them an inadequate vessel for the weight of candy collected inside the weakening paper of the bag I had provided.  

And the guilt has haunted me ever since.  Get it?  Haunted?  :)

I kid because really they don’t care, they just want that candy.  But I made up for last year’s paper bags with a simple sew project:  Halloween trick or treat bags made from ½ yard of spider web fabric with purple ties for my wizard/witch and black ties for my little ninja.

halloween trick or treat bags simple sew

 

Each one took about 15 minutes to make and cost me only a few bucks.   For each trick-or-treat bag you’ll need 1 yard of cotton belting and a 18” x 27” piece of fabric.  Here are the simple steps to stitch up something similar.  

simple sew treat bags supplies

First, fold over the longer 27” inch side with the fabric pattern facing up and place the cotton belting just inside to create a pocket for the belting with your sewing machine.  Do ya notice them sparklin’ spider webs?  Yep, in my seasonal excitement I brought home a glittery fabric.  Note to self: do not ever ever bring home a glittery fabric ever again, that glitter it gets everywhere you don’t want it to, and in places I won’t mention.

cotton belting

 

Next fold your fabric piece inside out and stitch together the 18” sides (from below the belting pocket), then turn the corner and sew the bottom of the bag too.  

sew bottom of bag

 

Make sure you pull your belt ties out, add a few stitches above the cotton belt pocket to bring it together, turn it right side out and you’re done.

stitch above cotton cording

 

Two treat bags for less than $10 dollars and in about 30 minutes!

halloween trick or treat bags cg

 

trick or treat halloween bags

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I do hope these versions stand up to the amount of candy about to enter our house tonight!  (Which will *magically* transform into a much smaller collection by the time they wake up the next morning… )

Wishing all of you on the east coast dealing with Sandy a return to normal as soon as possible – you are in my thoughts and prayers as you deal with the devastation from the storm. 

Happy Halloween to all who are celebrating today.

kate signature image

 

15 comments

  1. Love the treat bags, so cute. But paper bags, really? I’m disappointed in you. Don’t you have any old pillowcases? Preferably ones with faded yellow flowers. That’s what my mother gave us! LOL. Love your blog, I never fail to be inspired.

  2. maybe i’m missing something here but “turn your fabric inside out and stitch together the 18” sides”??? what is there to turn inside out if it was only one piece of fabric? are you supposed to fold the fabric over after sewing the belt in THEN turn it inside out to sew the 2 remaining sides? i’m a newbie at sewing so i’m a bit confused.

  3. Very cute! I can’t sew a straight line so I buy the $1 plastic pumpkins at Walmart, but I can appreciate the craftiness. Happy Halloween!

  4. Cute little bags. We used to use pillow cases when I was a kid. They worked great. They were nice and big and never tore.

  5. Haha, I am currently wearing a dress made out of the same fabric. Glitter is EVERYWHERE in my sewing room and around my desk.
    The bags are cute!

  6. These are very fun! We as moms carry so much guilt…and really the kids are just happy to get handfuls of candy! I hope you have a great Halloween!
    Jo-Anna

  7. @DeNacho…there are these fun little terms and tricks that people in the sewing world know all about, but us noobs have to scratch and kick to find out for ourselves. Here are some tips…when instructions talk about the “Right” side of the fabric they mean the front, or the part you will see on the outside when the product is finished. In this case, the side with the spiderweb pattern is the right side. In opposition, the “wrong” side is the side that will be on the inside of the finished product, the sparkle-less, web-less side in this case. When you are folding your fabrics “inside out,” it means you put your “right sides” together, so that they face one another and touch.
    Kate could have cut her long piece of fabric into two pieces and then turned them inside out and stitched all three sides, but to save herself time she simply folded the fabric in half. It’s like folding a piece of paper in half and then stapling the sides to make a little pocket. I hope that all helps and makes sense!

    • Oh thank you J Marie for the explanation! I’ve been out all day with kid festivities so I’m just seeing this! So sorry for any confusion!
      Kate

  8. Love these! Don’t even really need to get that fancy — one year, me and a friend took pillowcases in efforts of hitting up every house in town! When I tell you those pillowcases were full, they were FULLLLL. The sucky part was lugging them over our shoulders as we walked all the way back home. Good times..

  9. Well done! LOVE the fabric…I, too, was a member of the “white pillowcase” brigade…my sons, however, had cool treat bags…but not as cool as these! Happy Halloween! xo

  10. AMomWithNails – that is exactly what i was thinking she meant but wanted to make sure! thanks for the 2nd set of eyes! i taught myself basic sewing using a similar project to make veggie bags for grocery shopping but her project is even simpler so thought i’d replicate it!

    J.Marie – thanks for the terminology info!

  11. What *do* you do with all the candy that comes in?? I’m overwhelmed at what my one 3yo brought in! :)

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