• Home
  
• About Nancy Zieman
  
• Nancy’s Youtube Videos
  
• Contact Us
  

• Subscribe For Updates
  
• 
  
• 
  

• Sewing With Nancy
  
  
• Products by NancyBooks, Patterns & More
  
  
• EventsNancy on the Road
  
  
• Create With Nancy
  
  
• Quilt to Give
  
  

[size=32]How to Sew Bean Bags for the Popular Backyard Game[/size]

July 21st, 2015, In Sewing, by Nancy Zieman







Sewing and lawn games—I don’t think I’ve put those two thoughts in the same sentence before! Today, learn how to sew your own bean bags or corn bags, then play cornhole, tailgate, bean bag toss, doghouse, Baggo, or, whew, just plain bags. This is a perfect afternoon sewing project to create with kids. Then, go have some backyard fun.

How to Sew Bean Bags for Cornhole or Bean Bag Toss

Using the following instructions, you’ll be able to create regulation-size bags as set by theAmerican Cornhole Organization. If you’re going to play the game, you better be official!

Supplies, Notions and Fabric

• 12 oz duck canvas, 1/4 yard each of two colors
  
• Quality feed corn, 15 oz. for each corn bag (or use 15 oz. dried beans)
  
• Zipper foot
  
• Optional: 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
  
• Optional: Clover Point 2 Point Turner
  
• Optional: Wonder Clips
  

Note from Nancy: If you opt to use novelty print cotton fabrics for your bean bags, perhaps to align with your favorite sports teams, you’ll want to underline the cotton squares with duck canvas for durability. 

Create

•  For each bag, rotary cut two squares 7″ x 7″.
  

Use the 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge to measure a 1/2″ hem on one side of each square.

Press. Fold open prior to stitching. 

Match right sides and use a 1/2″ seam allowance to stitch one side of the square.

Stitch seams twice, or choose a double-stitch decorative stitch for durability. (I used Baby Lock 1-05.)

• “Wrap” the corners: Fold the fabric along the stitch line at the bottom corner; pin. 
  
• Stitch the bottom seam starting at the fold. Use a 1/2″ seam allowance.
  
• Fold the bottom seam along the stitch line and sew the remaining side. Use a 1/2″ seam allowance.
  

Note from Nancy: In the following pressing steps, it will help to press the bean bag envelope around a free-arm sleeve board or tailor’s pressing seam roll.

• Press seam allowances open at the top edge.
  
• Remove a small rectangle within the seam allowance to reduce bulk.
  

• Refold the 1/2″ pressed seam allowance.
  
• Press again.
  

• Turn the bag right side out.
  
• Use the turning tool to push out the corners.
  

• Fill with 15 oz. of corn.
  

• Pin the pressed folded edges together, placing pins parallel to the fold.
  
• Optional: Using a hand sewing needle, sew a long basting stitch along the top edge to hold the corn in place when you move to the sewing machine.
  

• Attach the zipper foot to your sewing machine.
  
• Carefully sew the opening closed; removing pins as you stitch.
  

• Optional: Use Wonder Clips at this step for ease of pinning. 
  

• Use an anchor cloth (starter piece of fabric) to stitch the final seam. Reverse stitch on the fabric to secure the seam. Then, clip away the anchor cloth.
  

What a great project combining sewing and backyard fun!

Learn How to Build Your Own Corntoss Board

Check out this blog and video on how to make the corntoss board, compliments of This Old House.
To learn more about the game, visit the American Cornhole Organization website.

Wrapped Corner Tips

The wrapped corner technique detailed above is also featured in my book,   The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew or watch the demonstration online onSewing With Nancy.


To watch Sewing With Nancy on your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, download the app.
The random winner of a package of  Fuse ‘n Gather from Clover is LuLu. She said: I have always used the 2 rows of regular stitching—pulling the threads to make my gathers look good! I would like to try Fuse ‘n Gather!
The random winner  of The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew book is Kimberly Hubbard. She said: I am a nurse, and these mitered patch pockets will go perfect on my scrub tops!

Bye for now,

Content in this feed is © copyright 2015 by Nancy Zieman and may not be republished without written permission. You’re welcome to forward the email to a friend or colleague but it’s not okay to add the RSS feed automatically as content on a blog or other website.

Share this:

• Share
  
  
  

Related Posts

2015 Adventure Quilt: Block of the Month #7

9 Comments

Update Your Knit Sewing Skills

92 Comments

Absolute Easiest Way to Sew Mitered Patch Pockets

69 Comments

Ten Tips to Stitch Perfect Gathers

79 Comments

6 Comments

[list=commentlist]
[*]
MartyJuly 21, 2015

Unbelievable: I was just saying to my son that I’d make some bags for him to have a set for tailgate fun, and I hadn’t even thought through the ‘how-to’ when you post these instructions. Thanks for making it “sew easy” for me!

[*]
Bertie SJuly 21, 2015

My grandson made a corn toss board in his school color, black and orange, Okla State U, I offered to make the corn bags but he didn’t think I could make them strong enough, so they ordered them online, I patch his jeans all the time, I should be able to make corn bags!!! His mother thinks I have enough to do.
Nancy, hope you are healing and progressing in your recovery. I have most of your Sewing with Nancy programs recorded. Thank you for all your sewing help and ideas.

[*]
peacefulJuly 21, 2015

When I was in nursing school my friend and I (and her father) made a bean bag toss for the pediatric unit we were on. We painted a picture of a nurse on the board and called her Miss Nurse. Then we sewed the bean bags by hand – no machine in the dorm. Fun game for kids and good for coordination skills.

[*]
Karen PattersonJuly 21, 2015

Hi Nancy!
Thank you so much for the instructions on making these! We plan to have our niece and nephew from Ohio come stay with us a few weeks in August and I have been teaching them to sew. This will be great fun for them to make and enjoy playing with while they are here and I’m sure they will want a set for home! Thanks so much! I love all your books, they have such good instruction. I just received one titled “Hot and Handy Projects” and I look forward to making things for the kitchen from it, along with lots of gifts for friends! I love all your books and hope I win “The Absolute Easiest Way To Sew” so not only I can learn but our nieces and nephews, neighbor girls and friends at church can too! My sewing room is very busy needless to say!
Love,
Karen

[*]
MarjorieJuly 21, 2015

I love your wrapped corner technique and use it anytime I need to see a corner…much nicer results than sewing the corner like so many patterns suggest.

[*]
Ronda HalvorsenJuly 21, 2015

Top of the morning to you Nancy! Hope your healing is going well and am so very excited for the new episodes in August!
Here is my cornhole experience. My son-shine and daugter-in-law’s wedding was a beautiful homespun creation.
I sewed several I think 30 or so bags for their multiple cornhole games at the reception.
I sure wish I would have had this tute as I thought simply serging them would suffice, WRONG! On the test run several of the bags burst. You really need a good tight stitch to stand up to the use these bags will take! I am going to post this on my son’s FB page and am quite sure will be sewing new ones! Thanks so very much for all you do!
Cheers,
Ronda in Bend

[/list]

Leave A Response

 Name *

 Email *

 Website

 


Submit Comment
* Denotes Required Field

 Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
 Notify me of new posts by email.

Subscribe To Updates

Email Address


 

Popular Blog Posts

• Sew Handbags
  
• Quilting
  
• Sewing
  
• Serging
  
• Embroidery
  
• 2015 Block of the Month
  
• Nancy's Absolute Easiest Ways
  
• Nancy Zieman's Knit Dress Sew Along
  

Nancy Zieman on Facebook

Nancy’s Pinterest Pins

See On

Grab Nancy’s Blog Button

Grab Nancy’s Badges

Product Features

• 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
  
• Hobo Totes
  
• No-Hassle Triangle Gauge
  
• Sew Grand Dresden Quilts Template
  
• Sew Techie and Tablet Covers
  
• Trace'n Create Bag Templates
  
• Trace'n Create Carefree Curves
  
• Trace'n Create Grandmother's One Patch
  

Flickr Photos

Recent Tweets

Follow Us On Twitter

Subscribe To Updates

Email Address


Copyright © 2015 - Nancy Zieman Productions · All Rights Reserved

• Terms of Use
  
• Privacy Policy
  
• Advertise with Us
  

 

97

Sewing and lawn games—I don’t think I’ve put those two thoughts in the same sentence before! Today, learn how to sew your own bean bags or corn bags, then play cornhole, tailgate, bean bag toss, doghouse, Baggo, or, whew, just plain bags. This is a perfect afternoon sewing project to create with kids. Then, go have some backyard fun.

How to Sew Bean Bags for Cornhole or Bean Bag Toss

Using the following instructions, you’ll be able to create regulation-size bags as set by the American Cornhole Organization. If you’re going to play the game, you better be official!

Supplies, Notions and Fabric

• 12 oz duck canvas, 1/4 yard each of two colors
  
• Quality feed corn, 15 oz. for each corn bag (or use 15 oz. dried beans)
  
• Zipper foot
  
• Optional: 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
  
• Optional: Clover Point 2 Point Turner
  
• Optional: Wonder Clips
  

Note from Nancy: If you opt to use novelty print cotton fabrics for your bean bags, perhaps to align with your favorite sports teams, you’ll want to underline the cotton squares with duck canvas for durability. 

97


Create

•  For each bag, rotary cut two squares 7″ x 7″.
  

97

Use the 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge to measure a 1/2″ hem on one side of each square.

Press. Fold open prior to stitching. 

Match right sides and use a 1/2″ seam allowance to stitch one side of the square.

Stitch seams twice, or choose a double-stitch decorative stitch for durability. (I used Baby Lock 1-05.)

97

• “Wrap” the corners: Fold the fabric along the stitch line at the bottom corner; pin. 
  
• Stitch the bottom seam starting at the fold. Use a 1/2″ seam allowance.
  
• Fold the bottom seam along the stitch line and sew the remaining side. Use a 1/2″ seam allowance.
  

97



Note from Nancy: In the following pressing steps, it will help to press the bean bag envelope around a free-arm sleeve board or tailor’s pressing seam roll.

• Press seam allowances open at the top edge.
  
• Remove a small rectangle within the seam allowance to reduce bulk.
  

97

• Refold the 1/2″ pressed seam allowance.
  
• Press again.
  

97

• Turn the bag right side out.
  
• Use the turning tool to push out the corners.
  

97

• Fill with 15 oz. of corn.
  

97

• Pin the pressed folded edges together, placing pins parallel to the fold.
  
• Optional: Using a hand sewing needle, sew a long basting stitch along the top edge to hold the corn in place when you move to the sewing machine.
  

97

• Attach the zipper foot to your sewing machine.
  
• Carefully sew the opening closed; removing pins as you stitch.
  

97

• Optional: Use Wonder Clips at this step for ease of pinning. 
  

97

• Use an anchor cloth (starter piece of fabric) to stitch the final seam. Reverse stitch on the fabric to secure the seam. Then, clip away the anchor cloth.
  

97


What a great project combining sewing and backyard fun!


97

Learn How to Build Your Own Corntoss Board

Check out this blog and video on how to make the corntoss board, compliments of This Old House.


97



To learn more about the game, visit the American Cornhole Organization website.

Wrapped Corner Tips

The wrapped corner technique detailed above is also featured in my book,   The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew or watch the demonstration online on Sewing With Nancy.

[url=http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/sewing-2/how-to-sew-bean-bags/Absolute Easiest Way to Sew on Sewing With Nancy | Nancy Zieman][/url]
696

To watch Sewing With Nancy on your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, download the app.
The random winner of a package of  Fuse ‘n Gather from Clover is LuLu. She said: I have always used the 2 rows of regular stitching—pulling the threads to make my gathers look good! I would like to try Fuse ‘n Gather!
The random winner  of The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew book is Kimberly Hubbard. She said: I am a nurse, and these mitered patch pockets will go perfect on my scrub tops!

Bye for now,

Content in this feed is © copyright 2015 by Nancy Zieman and may not be republished without written permission. You’re welcome to forward the email to a friend or colleague but it’s not okay to add the RSS feed automatically as content on a blog or other website.

Share this:

• Share
  
  
  

- See more at: http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/sewing-2/how-to-sew-bean-bags/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-sew-bean-bags#sthash.lY0Hj8oU.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/sewing-2/how-to-sew-bean-bags/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-sew-bean-bags#sthash.lY0Hj8oU.dpuf