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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Mini Charm Pack Project

 
Mini charm packs... so dang cute but what to do with them? Is that really enough fabric for a project?

 
I've bought a few of them simply to stack on my shelf, but I decided I needed to come up with a plan, especially if I wanted to buy more. My first thought was a small table topper, but I have a lot of those. While looking at it I realized there was enough there to make a little Trick or Treat bag, even something cute to hold a few candies on the counter (because now a days my kids go out with huge pillow cases and don't return until they're full).

To make the bag...
 
Sew all the tiny squares together, 4 rows with 11 squares each, and then add some batting on the back to make it stiff. I quilted a few lines to hold the pieces together.


After that cut a lining piece the same size from a fat quarter...
 

 
You'll need a 7 inch circle for the base. Cut 2, one for the outside and one for the inside of the bag.
 
 
Join the 2 short ends and sew your squares into a tube shape with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
 
Attach batting to the circle that is going on the outside with a little spray glue. Then as you can see below, pin the circle to the bottom of your tube. 

 
Sew your circle in place and turn the whole thing right side out.

 
At this point you'll basically make the same thing again, only out of the lining pieces you cut earlier...


Leave a little hole in your seam to turn your bag right side out.
 
Leave your lining piece WRONG side out for now, and slip it over your outside piece.
 

 
Sew the two pieces together all the way around the top...

 
Pull the outside piece through the hole that you left in the seam of the inside piece...



And tuck the lining into the bag...
 

 
You can top stitch around the top to hold the lining in place and give it a finished look.

 
I thought it looked cute with the top folded down while it's sitting on the counter.

 
Almost as an after thought I added handles. These are just top stitched to the side of the bag.

 
Opened up it can actually hold quite a bit of candy.

 
Now I have a use for those adorable and affordable mini charm packs. Wouldn't this make a cute gift basket out of Christmas fabrics, or an Easter basket out of spring fabrics!
 

 

4 comments:

  1. Yes yes! Very sweet. I've been making little buckets too. They are so fun.

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  2. First.....what a beautiful family you have.....such wonderful kids!! I adore the lemonade stand picture!!!
    Love the bag!! I've been thinking about doing a few of these as I a have the ever growing stash pile!!!!
    Thanks for the great tutorial!!

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  3. I LOVE that basket.. I'm brand new to any kind of sewing.. where do you find the little bundles of fabric??

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  4. Thanks guys! You can usually find the mini charm packs, as well as regular sized charm packs at specialty quilt shops or online at shops like http://www.fatquartershop.com/

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