Instead of reading about crafts, I actually got crafty and made some bean bags!  I made two sets of four.

I started by cutting 5″ squares of a blue denim fabric I had from another project.  It would be fun to cut up some old jeans to use, but the jeans I had were thicker than I wanted for the bean bags.

I wanted to make the bean bags a little special so I cut 5″ strips of grosgrain  ribbon, one for each bag.

After sewing each ribbon onto a square of fabric, I placed the fronts together and sewed a seam between 1/4″ and 1/2″ around the square.  I left an opening so I could turn the bags right side out.   I didn’t back stitch around the opening, but next time I will.  It was a pain to get my stitches back in order before I finished the bags.

I turned the bags right side out, and tried several different fillings: small white beans, corn, rice, and polystyrene weighted pellets.  I liked the weight and the sound of the corn the best.  I made a funnel from sturdy paper and put slightly less than 2/3 cup of corn kernels into each bag.

I finished the bags by stitching all the way around the edge of each bag.  I really don’t like sewing by hand and this way looks neat and finished.