Trick or Treat! Halloween Fabrics and Trick or Treat Bag Directions

Hello Quilting Lovelies!  Halloween is just a few days away, but you have time to whip up some trick or treat bags before then.  Below is my easy and fast pattern for a super cute trick or treat bag.  To help you out more, we have a Halloween fat quarter bundle at a special price.

12 Fat Quarters for $15

The pattern below uses just two fat quarters, you could make 6 bags for $15.  All before the big night!

TRICK OR TREAT BAG

My niece informed me that our youngest baby does not have his own trick or treat bag!  This will not do!  I decided to recreate a bag I made a few years ago and share the pattern here with you – all my quilting lovelies!

You will need:

2 fat quarters

3/4 yard decorative trim (optional)

1 fat quarter size of interfacing or thin batting (optional)

The usual: Your sewing machine, thread, etc.

Cutting the fat quarters:

I laid my fat quarters one on top of another and cut the following pieces:

2 - 2" x 20" (those are the ones on the left)

1 - 13" x 20" (the big piece)

I wanted to use an interfacing to give my bag some body, so I laid it right between the fat quarters while cutting.  A fusible interfacing would work great.  You would fuse it to the back of your fat quarter BEFORE cutting it out. 

Time to get sewing!  For purposes here I will call the pieces by the colors I used. 

Place one black strip and one orange strip right sides together.  Sew 1/4" from the edge along both long edges.

Turn the straps right side out and press.  You will have two straps for your bag.

I always do these first. They are a pain to turn right side out.  I feel so much better knowing they are done!

Time for the bag.  Since our bag is lined, we will be making what will look like two bags - one orange, one black.  

Fold the fabric onto itself right sides together so it now measures 13" x 10". Stitch 1/4" from the side and bottom, leave the top open.

Next is a little trick that will make the bottom of the bag boxy.  It makes the bag hold its shape instead of just lying flat.

Grab one of the bottom corners of the bag and fold it as shown.  Measure down 2" from the point and draw a line.  It is helpful to use a clear ruler so you can line the seam up vertically and assure your horizontal line is perpendicular to the seam.  Just a stickler step, I don't think being a bit off would mess up your bag!

Pin the corner and stitch along the drawn line.  Trim away excess fabric to 1/4". 

Repeat for the other corner of the black piece, and both bottom corners of the orange piece.

Pinning the straps:

Turn your bag piece right side out and lay it flat with the seam on the side.  Position one of the straps to the bag as shown with right sides together allowing the strap to loop alongside the bag.

You will want each end  approximately 2" from each side of the bag.  Pin in place.  Flip the bag over and repeat for the other side with the other strap.

Stitch the straps a scant 1/4" from the edge.  You want to be slightly less than 1/4" so that when you are done your stitching does not show, it will be inside the seam allowance.

Place your lining (mine is the black) around the bag as shown.  You want the right sides together at this point.

Match the side seams and pin all around the edge.

Sew 1/4" around the top leaving a small opening to turn your bag right side out.  That opening will be stitched closed later.

Turning the bag right side out can be a chore.  Be patient and work it out slowly.  I want to make a birthing analogy, but I am holding back.

After the bag is right sides out, carefully pin closed the opening and whip stitch closed by hand.

Okay, you can stop laughing now!  You know I put that bad boy on the machine and stitched it.  I am not going to stop this close to being done for hand sewing.  Silly quilter...

Your bag is finished, or it could be.  I am going to embellish mine a bit but it isn't necessary.  Just know it is fine to stop at this point and love your new bag.

For my bag, I want to fold down the edge to show off the lining.  I turned it down about 1 1/2" from the edge.

I have to position the straps so they would remain straight and pin it all in place.

At this point if I were a careful quilter, I would machine stitch the fold down before adding the trim.

You all know I am not careful.  I dove right in and began stitching away - adding the trim while stitching down my folded edge.  Oh what a rebel I am!

I overlapped the trim when I rounded around and back-stitched a bit.  I will be honest, some of the thicknesses required patience but I made it.

And it is worth it!  I love this little bag and I know my little one will be the envy of all the other little trick or treaters with his cute bag on Halloween Night. 

New A-OK Pattern and back from the Quilt Show

Hello all of my quilting lovelies!  I hope your summer has been relaxing and involved some fun with friends and family.  Last night we had a wild thunderstorm that left our yard littered with tree branches and knocked over some items.  Poor Michael will be cleaning up for a few days.  I heard this morning we received between 3 1/2" and 4" of rain from the storm.  Rain is always welcome, but wow!  Good news is that we never lost power and nothing hit the house or cars (or hard enough to hurt them).  Always an adventure!

We just returned from Temple, Texas where we were a vendor at the Wildflower Quilt Guild's Quilt Show.  This group is always so sweet to us.  We were given a tour of the First United Methodist Church in Downtown Temple.  It is over one hundred years old and a stunning building; full of rich history.  If you are ever in Temple, I would suggest attending a service there.  Incredibly stunning.

First United Methodist Church of Temple, Texas

A big public thank you to the quilt guild.  Like it or not you all are stuck with us now!  We will be back soon!

I wanted to share some pictures of our booth.  This was the first time in a while we vended at a show, and we were a bit rusty.  In the end we figured it out and had a great time.  If you would like us to vend at your show, please email me - we would love to come.  We also do speaking engagements and workshops.  Information for that is on our website www.quiltintia.com.

Those of you may have noticed a NEW pattern.  Yes, we have a new five yard quilt pattern called Garland.  It is featured here in Paige's Passion - Blue bundle.  It was one of the easiest quilts to put together and finished perfectly.  It would work just as well with the Paige's Passion Pink Bundle.  I have included those images below.

Garland - Paige's Passion (BLUE)

Garland - Paige's Passion (PINK)

Here are a few other options:

Garland - Apricot and Persimmon

Garland - Desert Bloom (RED)

Garland - Dutch Treat

Garland - Era of Jane Collection (Blue)

Garland - Hello Gorgeous!

Well - what do you think?  We would love to see your A-OK quilts and share on the website.  You can see other quilter's projects on the Gallery page.  You could be there too!

Have a wonderful week!  

Susan/Tia

30s or not to 30s, that is the question...

Our 30s section in the Quilt Shop - we called it 30s Street

Hello all my quilting lovelies!  Do you like 30s fabrics?  Or are you puzzled by the interest in them?  I have found that either you love them or you can't figure out what the big deal is with these old prints.  Are they out of fashion in the quilt world?  These are all questions I do not know how to answer.   Personally, I love vintage stuff.  Someday I will have my mahogany twin beds refinished, set up in a guest room and decked out with the two twin 30s quilts I made.  I have embroidered vintage pillows that I plan to place on each one.  These pastel prints remind me of my Grandma Evelyn.  Her love of pink was evident throughout her home.  

But there is another side of 30s prints.  The brighter side using primary colors that seem perfect for little ones.  I used a mix of red, blue and yellow 30s when I made a baby quilt for one of my dearest friends.  They were classic.  I knew they would work for a boy or girl and were not based on passing color or character fads.  That once little baby girl is now 15 years old and she still has the quilt in her room.  

You can gather from my quilting experiences that I am one of those that LOVE 30s fabrics.  So when the opportunity came to order some, I did just that.  I went with the brights since they work for boys and girls.  They are classic in color and style.  

Toy Chest 2

There are seven prints from which to choose.  We have a fat quarter pack for your 30s stash!

Need some ideas? We have created five different baby bundles and kits.  But remember - any four half yards will work with ANY of the Baby A-OK patterns.

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July with friends and family!

Susan/Tia

New Fabric - Dutch Treat

Hello All My Quilting Lovelies!  I am excited to share this new fabric with you.  I have long loved designs similar to the one shown here.  I wouldn't always call it Dutch, but more European.  The simplicity, colors and movement appeal to my sense of style.  Here are a few more examples of items I remember through the years:

These are both pillows from Ikea.  I wanted them immediately!  Someday when I grow up I will embroider again.  For now I can appreciate other people's work.  

So when this new fabric group Dutch Treat came out, I was super excited!  Now I could have these vibrant colors and designs in FABRIC!  I have had fun playing with the prints and plugging them into the A-OK designs.

Don't you just love it?  Clean, crisp, bright.  When you purchase the five yard bundle, you can choose any A-OK Pattern for free!  If you are stumped and not sure which pattern to use, I have done up a few samples below to give you inspiration.  We have yardage, bundles and kits available.  

Of course ANY of the A-OK patterns will work with the group, I have just featured a few.  I hope you all are enjoying a brand new year and celebrating everyday!

Tia/Susan