In Belgium, people traditionally give what they call sugar beans to family and friends when a baby is born. These sugar-coated almonds and/or chocolates are presented in little boxes, bags, jars, or what-not, and typically have the same theme, lay-out and colors as the birth announcement.
Most people will fill the boxes/jars/bags themselves a few months or weeks before the birth, and some also make them themselves. A typical question to ask a mom-to-be in her third trimester is ‘Are you all set with the sugar beans yet?’.
For Ava’s birth, I thought it’d be fun to sew little bags myself. I had to make about 100 pieces, though, so it had to be a fast project. But it also had to be stylish. So I started thinking of a way to make a bag with nicely finished edges (no pinking shears!) without having to fold in, press, and stitch the top edges of 100 bags. I ended up with this technique.
TUTORIAL
1. Per bag, you need to cut only 1 piece of fabric, with the following dimensions:
– width: 2 x (width of finished bag + seam allowance)
– length: 2 x (length of finished bag + seam allowance)
2. Fold in half lenghtwise, with right sides together. Stitch the side edge (I used a serger, but you can just as well use a regular running stitch).
3. Slide the top half of the tube over the bottom half, so the tube is reduced to half its length.
4. Stitch the top edge (all four layers together). I serged it, but you can also use a running stitch.
5. Turn right side out, and add a (satin) ribbon to tie the bag. Done!
Making a bag this way goes incredibly fast, so I was able to make my 100 bags in just a few hours. Still, the treat bags look stylish (I think) and even have a luxurious feel to them (as in a sense, they are lined!).
