Featured fabric: Blank Quilting Corp. Ashton Fabrics by Missie Carpenter

Pattern design by: Lindsay Conner

Sewn by: Lindsay Conner

Sewing your own bean bags is fun and easy! This tic-tac-toe bean bag game makes a great toy for little kids. Just draw your board with chalk, dole out the bean bags, and start playing! The X and O on each bean bag is attached with fusible applique and reinforced with a zig-zag stitch. Once you’ve learned this technique, you can put other letters or numbers on these bean bags. What a great way to help young kids practice their counting or learn how to spell their name!

For adults, this pattern includes a larger size option for the bean bags, in case you want to sew your own cornhole bags! This classic yard game is lots of fun, and now you can make your own bags. Regulation cornhole bags are 6” square, and they are best when made with heavy-duty fabrics (like a canvas or duckcloth). However, you can use lighter fabrics like quilting cottons and back them in fusible interfacing before sewing to get a more durable cloth.

Skills Learned: Machine and hand sewing, applique

Skill Level: Beginner

Finished Size: 5” x 5” (2.54cm x 2.54cm) bean bags or 6” x 6” (15.24cm x 15.24cm) cornhole bags

Fabric Requirements:

Assorted fabric prints: 1/4 yard (.23m) each

          I used:

1675-88 Red Tear Drop Floral

1670-79 Teal Circle Clover

1673-33 Orange Floral Stamp

1674-41 Ivory Teepees

Assorted prints for the backs

2 sheets EZ-Steam II (two-sided pressure sensitive fusible web)

Printout of Bean Bags PDF pattern (measure 1” test square to confirm printout is to size)

Funnel or small piece of cardstock and tape to make one

48 ounces of dried beans or lentils, corn kernels, small beads, or rice

Equipment needed:

Sewing machine

Iron and pressing cloth

Fabric cutting tools (scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat)

Hand sewing needle and thread

Scissors

Pen

Cutting Directions

Bean bag front fabrics: From the outer fabric, cut (1) 32” x 17½” strip, with the print running in the direction of the 32” side.

Repeat with the lining fabric.

Bean bag back fabrics: Cut 9 squares 5½” x 5½” for toy bags or 6½” x 6½” for cornhole bags

Applique fabrics: Set aside the chosen fabrics for the X and O, which will be cut soon.

Make the Appliques

1. Cut out the X and O from the printed pattern. Remove 2 sheets of EZ-Steam II from the package and read the instructions before beginning.

2. Use a pen to trace around the X and O on the plain paper side of the fusible. Trace the shapes as close to each other as possible to maximize how many you can fit on each sheet. Draw a total of 9 shapes. (I made 5 X and 4 O shapes.)

3. Use scissors to cut apart the X section from the O section on the fusible. Peel off the paper on the opposite side (not the side you drew on) of each fusible section. Stick the fusible on the wrong side of the fabric. (I chose blue for X and red for O.)

4. Cut out each letter, cutting through the fusible and fabric. Don’t forget to remove the center of each O—you can fold it in half and make a snip into the center to get the cut started.

5. Carefully peel off the paper backing from each letter, leaving the fusible attached to the fabric. This makes a fabric “sticker” you can apply to the fabric squares you cut earlier. Center each X and O on the right side of a fabric square.

Press the letter onto the fabric following the manufacturer’s directions for the fusible. Tip: Use a pressing cloth (any lightweight piece of fabric) between your iron and the applique to prevent any adhesive from melting to the iron plate.

6. Use a zig-zag stitch to carefully sew a border around each X and O. (I set my stitch width to 2.0mm and stitch length to 1.0mm.)

Sew the Bean Bags

1. Pair each bean bag front with a bean bag back. (I chose assorted fabrics for the backs.) Place the front and back right sides together and pin or clip in place.

2. With a straight stitch, sew around each pair of fabric squares ¼” from the edge, leaving a 2” gap in the middle of one side for turning. Backstitch at the beginning and end.

With a wide zig-zag stitch, sew around the edge of the seam to reinforce the bean bag, once again leaving a 2” gap for turning. Backstitch at the beginning and end of your zig-zag stitch.

3. Turn the bean bag right side out, using your fingers or a blunt pencil to poke out the corners.

4. Use a funnel to add 10 Tablespoons of filling to your bean bags. You could use dried beans or lentils, corn kernels, small beads, or rice. I used 48 ounces of dried lentils to fill all 9 bean bags. Tip: To make filling easier, use a funnel! I made a funnel out of a greeting card by rolling the cardstock and taping the narrow end.

5. After filling the bags, grab a hand sewing needle and thread. Pull a long piece of thread, thread the needle, and tie both long ends into a knot. Thread the needle into the opening of the bean bag, starting close to where the machine stitches stop. Sew a few more knots through the fabric’s inner lip (the part that will not show when the bean bag is closed).

6. Continue poking the needle through the fabric’s inner lip on the upper ridge, going from one side to the other side, and pulling the thread through. This is called a slip stitch, and it is mostly hidden when you complete the stitch. Don’t worry if your stiches are visible! It takes some practice, and any kind of stitch will do as long as you sew it completely shut.

7. When you have closed the bean bag, tie a few knots in one place to secure the stitch. Snip off the extra thread, and your bean bag is finished!

So, what do you think?! These bean bags are easy to sew and would make a fun gift for kids. You can decorate them with any shapes, numbers, or letters that you’d like!

The DIY cornhole bags are just as simple to assemble, but make sure to grab a few extra bags of filling, since they are a larger size! (Estimate 2 cups of dried corn and for each 6″ X 6″ finished bag, which should weigh between 14 and 16 ounces.) Happy sewing!

Fabric Details:

To view the complete Ashton Fabrics Collectionby Missie Carpenter click here.
To find a retailer near you click here.

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Learn more about Lindsay here.