A Tutorial

So last weekend my son had a birthday party. I was busy with a lot of sewing, a new puppy (and bunny), and who knows what else. Usually I am very efficient with these things, but I forgot about goody bags. His party was at an indoor kart racing place that has arcade games. I decided, instead of getting icky candy and plastic toys that will break within one second, I'd make pouches and fill them with quarters for the arcade. Originally, I used this tutorial to make these pouches:

But then I thought I could maybe take these a little farther. The pouches (above) are based on an 8" circle. I wanted to make something a little bigger, and a little tighter at the top. The drawstrings in the pouches I made originally are an inch apart. I made these new ones with a half inch space between the holes, 1 inch from the edge of the circle, not the petals. First I traced a circle from a 10" embroidery hoop. I originally used a marker that disappears with water, but it does not work well on the felt.

Next, I measured an inch from the circle, and a half inch between dots. These dots are where the holes will go for your string, cord, etc., to tie the bag closed. I had to switch to a permanent marker here, and it bled a little, so make sure to use a marking tool that will show up but won't screw up your design!

Then I took a petal template I had and traced petals, close together, above the edge of the 10" circle I originally traced.

After tracing the petals, I cut out the design, using smaller scissors around the intricate petals.

To make the task quicker, I used a hole punch to make holes for my ribbon. I used a punch with a bigger hole than I needed, so you can see the holes better.

I took 1/8" orange ribbon and weaved it through the holes I made previously. I could have used cord, lace, etc. to put through the holes, as long as I can tie it.

They would be cute as party table favors! This example, of course, is very simple, but one could embellish the petals, sew in a contrasting lining, however far your imagination takes you...