How To Make Beanbags - A Tutorial

Owen and I recently made beanbags for Fin's second birthday. Owen enjoyed helping pick the fabrics from my stash of scraps and filling the bags with beans. He also requested some of his own. Here's what we did:

1. Select woven fabrics.
( We chose all blue ones - three solids, and three plaids. Denim from old jeans is great.)

2. Cut two, 4.75 inch squares for each bean bag.
3. Place each pair of squares with right sides together. Beginning about 1 inch from one corner, sew a 0.25 inch seam around the edges. After turning the fourth corner, sew 1 inch, and stop. This will leave a small hole in one side of the bag. Repeat for each bag.

4. Cut the corners at a 45 deg. angle close to the seam. (This will reduce the bulk at the corners and allow them to turn easily.)
5. Turn the bag right sides out. Use a chopstick to gently push out corners.
6. The edges around the holes should turn under on their own. Make sure they are straight and even, and press the bags with a hot iron. 7. Fill each bag with 1/2 cup of beans.
(We used a piece a paper folded into a funnel to get our navy beans in there more easily.)

Here they are waiting to be sewn up.
8. Sew across the whole length of each open side.
(I used a contrasting thread and a zigzag stitch.)
9. Give them to your little one.
(Here's my cheeky monkey with a basket of beanbags. You can use things from around the house as targets. Baskets, yoghurt cups, and laundry hampers all work great and are free.)