Option #1
How do you make a permanently stitched bean bag?
Goal:
Goal:
In this lesson, you will use the skills you learned when making your puppet! You will sew a pouch and fill it with beans, rice, or lentils to make a bean bag for you to play with.
Click through the slideshow to learn how to make your own bean bags!
Fill your bags.
Fill a plastic bag (Freezer bags work best.) with about 1 cup of beans, rice, or lentils. Make sure to completely close the bags.
Fold your felt in half.
Fold your piece of felt in half, short end to short end. This is the same thing you did when you created your puppet.
Sew up two sides of the felt.
Sew up one of the short sides, starting at the fold. Continue sewing down the long side. You may use a straight stitch or an overcast stitch. Remember, a straight stitch goes in and out on the same side of the felt. An overcast stitch is brought over the edge of the fabric and pushed through again on the same side. Stop sewing when you get to the end of the long side!
Stuff your bean bag.
Stuff your bag with your plastic bag of beans, rice, or lentils. Make sure that the plastic bag fits all the way into your felt pouch so that you can bring the felt together at the opening. You need to be able to sew it shut!
Sew up the final side.
Finish sewing up the final side of your bean bag! Make sure to hold the edges together so that you don’t get any holes! Note for Learning Coach: If the bag gets too fat and the edges don’t stay together very well, it may be helpful to pin that side together while your artist is sewing. Just make sure they understand that pins are sharp!
Now, you have a finished bean bag! But wait! What if you want to be able to stuff your bag with different things? The next page will give you instructions on another way to make this project.