DIY Trick or Treat Bags: Pumpkin, Ghost, and Frankenstein

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I can't believe we are already a week into October! Halloween is just around the corner, are you ready? Probably the most exciting part of Halloween for kid is the trick or treating. You get to dress up, knock on doors and people give you candy, really as a kid what is better than that? Besides the costume there are two important things that we need for trick or treating, candy to hand out and a bag for kids to collect candy in. I took care of both of those things this week when I ran to Walmart and picked up a couple of Large Variety Hershey Candy Bags. The bags were huge and had some of our family's favorite candy in them. My family loves Reese's, Milk Duds, Kit Kat, and Twizzlers, all candy that came in the bags we got.  I figure if our family loves it then other people will love getting it on Halloween. It is nice to be able to pass out candy that we know other people will like getting.

Now that we had the candy we just needed some trick or treat bags for everyone. I thought it would be fun to make some really classic Halloween character bags. I decided on a pumpkin, a ghost, and a Frankenstein. The bags are really simple bags with iron on features, the ghost is the easiest, then the pumpkin, the Frankenstein has the most details and is the most involved but it is still pretty easy. While I was at Walmart I picked up some solid colored fabrics, some double sided fusible web and those along with a sewing machine are pretty much all you need to make these bags. Here is how you can make your own:

How to Make Trick or Treat Bags: Pumpkin, Ghost, and Frankenstein

Finished Size 10" x 12" (not including handles)

You will need:

• Fabric
• Pumpkin:
• 1/3 yard of orange
• 1/4 yard of green
• small amount of black
• Ghost 
• 1/2 yard white
• small amount of black 
• Frankenstein: 
• 1/3 yard of green
• 1/4 yard black
• small amount of white and gray
• paper backed, double sided fusible web
• coordinating thread
• scissors, rotary cutter, mat, and ruler
• sewing machine
• iron
• pattern (click here to get pdf)
• ultra fine permanent marker (for Frankenstein's mouth and stitches)

Instructions:

Print the pattern or draw your own faces. Cut the following pieces for the main bag and handle:

Main Bag- (for pumpkin cut from orange, ghost cut from white, Frankenstein cut from green)

• 2- 11" x 14 1/2"

Handles- (pumpkin cut from green, ghost cut from white, Frankenstein cut from black)

• 2- 18"x 3"

Cut the rest of the pieces as follows using the printable pattern:

*For the shapes that will be ironed on (everything except Frankenstein's screws, hair, and the pumpkin top)  it is easiest if you first trace your shapes on the fusible web, cut out the section around the shapes, not the individual shapes, iron that onto your fabric and then cut the shapes out, cutting the fabric and fusible web at the same time. 

• For the Pumpkin-
• cut 1 leafy top from green
• cut 3 triangles from black and fusible web (2 eyes, 1 nose)
• cut one mouth from black and fusible web
• For the Ghost-
• cut 2 ghost eyes from black and fusible web
• cut 1 ghost mouth from black and fusible web
• For the Frankenstein-
• cut 1 hair section from black
• cut 2 eyes from white and fusible web
• cut 2 pupils from black and fusible web
• cut 2 eyebrows from black and fusible web
• cut 4 screws from gray

The next step is to assemble the fronts of your bags by ironing on the pieces to one of the main bag pieces. It is important to note that the top 2" of your bag will be folded down and there is a 1/2" seam allowance around the other 3 sides, make sure that as you place the faces you remember that so that they are not too close to the top or sides. 

Assemble your bag fronts as follows:

• Pumpkin-
• Place the green top so that the long straight edge is even with the top edge of your bag front, baste along top edge, sew down along pointy edge close to the edge (about 1/8")
• Position eyes, nose, and mouth below the leafy section, peel off paper and iron on
• Ghost-
• Position eyes and mouth where desired on front of bag, keeping in mind the 2" hem along top of bag and seam allowances, peel off paper, iron on
• Frankenstein-
• Place the black hair piece so that the long straight edge is even with the top edge of your bag front, baste along top edge, sew down along pointy edge close to the edge (about 1/8")
• Position eyes, pupils, and eyebrow below hair, peel off paper and iron in place
• Use an ultra fine tip permanent marker to draw a mouth and stitches on face (you can trace the designs on the pattern or draw your own)
• Prepare the screws by taking 2 screw pieces right sides together and sewing around the sides and the top with a 1/4" seam, leaving the bottom section open, clip corners turn right side out and press, repeat for the other screw
• Pin screws to the front of the bag, lining up the raw edge of the side of the bag and the raw, open edge of the screw, about 2 1/2" from the bottom of the bag on each side, you will sew them into the seam allowance when you sew the front and back together

Now it is time to sew the bag together, the rest of the steps are the same for all of the designs.

Prepare your handles by folding the straps in half and sewing a 1/2" seam down the side to create a tube. Turn inside out, to do this I attached a safety pin along one edge and tucked it inside and pulled it through the tube and out the other side, you can also sew a small seam along one short edge and use a pencil to turn the tube. Press and topstitch about 1/8" from the edge along each long side. Set the handles aside.

Place your 2 main sections (front and back) right sides together and sew along the 2 sides and bottom with a 1/2" seam allowance. Before turning right side out stitch around outside edge with a zigzag or overcast stitch to finish the raw edge. Turn right side out. 

Fold the top edge down 1 inch, pin handles about 1 1/2" in from each edge, lining up raw edges. Fold top down again enclosing the raw edge of both the bag and the handles. Pin all the way around, be sure that your handles are pulled up so that they are coming out the top of the bag. Stitch around the inside edge of the fold, close to the edge. Then stitch around again close to the top edge of the bag.

That's it, your bag is done. It looks like kind of a lot of steps all written out but it is a really simple bag to make and by ironing on and drawing the faces it is really easy to get all of the cute details fast. 

I hope you enjoy these bags and have a great time trick or treating this Halloween, whether that is going out with your kids or passing out candy at home. Be sure to check out the huge bags of Hershey's candy at Walmart, you will be sure to have plenty of candy for all of the little trick-or-treaters that come by your house/work/trunk or treat or wherever you will be. The hardest part for me is not picking out all of the Reese's before I have a chance to hand them out. What is your favorite Halloween candy?