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How to Sew a Goody Bag

In a matter of minutes, you can create themed gift bags to coordinate with your next party. Goody bags, also known as treat bags, are filled with gifts or candies and given to party guests or to children on holidays. The bags are great to use for mystery gift games or to surprise guests who love homemade elements. After the party or holiday, your guests will be able to use the bags for practical purposes, such as organizing their purses or as storage space.

Things You'll Need

1/3 yard of fabric
Iron
Safety pin
Two pieces of ribbon 1/4 inch by 14 inches
4 beads, 1/2 inch or larger in diameter

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare your sewing machine by threading the needle and inserting a matching bobbin. Set the machine to the straight stitch option.
- 2
  Cut the piece of fabric into a 10 by 24 inch rectangle. This will make a large goody bag. The fabric can be sized down at this stage to as small as 4 by 12 inches to create a 4 x 6 sized bag.
- 3
  Turn under a 1/4 inch seam along the 10-inch side of the fabric.
- 4
  Insert the fabric under the needle and lower the presser foot. Sew the seam in place. Repeat along the other 10-inch side of the fabric.
- 5
  Fold the fabric in half with the right sides, or outside, of the fabric touching. Once folded you should have roughly a 10 by 12 inch rectangle.
- 6
  Stitch the side seams together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Stop sewing approximately 1 inch from the top, or open, end of each side. This will create the basic pouch.
- 7
  Iron the seams open along both sides.
- 8
  Sew down, across and back up the unsewn edges of the sides of the pouch. This will hem the raw edges in preparation for the drawstring.
- 9
  Fold down 1/2 inch along the open top of the bag. Fold the material toward the inside, or wrong side, of the fabric.
- 10
  Stitch in place along the previously hemmed edge, using the seam you created in Step 4 as a guide. This creates the casing for the drawstring. Turn the bag right side out.
- 11
  Insert a safety pin into the end of your ribbon and close the pin. Push the pin through the casing until it comes out of the other side. Pull the string so that there is an even amount of string coming from each side.
- 12
  Place one bead on each end of the ribbon. Tie a knot between the bead and the end of the ribbon to keep the bead on. Stuff the bags with your favorite treats, candies or party gifts and pull the drawstrings closed.

Sewing