Ever wondered how to make your own cornhole bags? Well it's pretty simple so I'm going to show you how. First you need to pick two colors of fabric; I recommend buying Duck Cloth (it's a type of fabric) or another heavy duty external fabric. To make one set of corn hole bags you will make 4 bags of each color. Most of the home decor fabrics are 56" wide so you will need 0.5 yards of each color - if your fabric is less than 56" wide (some are 52" and some are 44") then you should buy 0.75 yards. If you can't find a pretty fabric you like in the home decor section, then you can buy regular cotton fabric and iron on interfacing on the back of it. In the photos below, I am making two sets so you will see 8 bags of each color instead of 4 bags but my fabric and cutting instructions are to make 4 bags of each color. Anyways...so you bought your fabric...now what?
Cut (8) 7" x 7" squares of each color (a rotary cutter and ruler are very helpful but scissors will work just fine)
Cut (8) 7" x 7" squares of each color (a rotary cutter and ruler are very helpful but scissors will work just fine)
Take two squares and put the right sides together (the back of the fabric should be facing you). Pin them together. The placing of the pins isn't too important but you need enough to keep them together and without sliding apart. Do you see the pins at the bottom of the square? We aren't going to sew between them.
Sew around three full sides (and all four corners) but don't sew in between the two pins along the bottom edge. Repeat with the rest of the squares.
Clip your corners (to make the corners less bulky when we turn it) and snip your threads close to the fabric.
Flip the bag inside out so that the right side of the fabric (the side with the designs) is facing you. Use point turner (shown below), a pen/pencil or your fingers to push out the corners of the bag.
Use your iron on a hot/cotton setting to press the edges of the bag. On the side with the opening, fold the edges to the inside of the bag and press.
Now it's time to fill the bags. You will need a digital kitchen scale, a container to set on the scale and a scoop. To fill the bags, I recommend feed corn. I bought mine at a small feed store I pass on my way home but I'm sure you can get it at Tractor Supply or other similar places. Unfortunately the smallest bag I could buy was 50lb - if that is the case for you too, don't panic! The bag was only $12 and it will make 6 full sets of cornhole bags.
Each bag should weigh 16oz including the bag and the corn. Weigh the empty bags first, mine weighed 0.6oz (I weighed a few to be sure). Set your container on the scale (I used a 2 cup measuring cup), turn on the scale and zero it. Add corn until you get to 15.4oz (or 16oz minus the weight of your cornhole bags you made).
Pour the corn into a bag (this is why I liked the two cup measuring cup with the spout and good handle).
To pin the bags shut, take one of the bags and tap it on the table to make sure the corn has settled into the bag. Grip the bag and pin it closed, with long pins, as close to the corn as possible. This will make it so you can keep the fabric flat under the presser foot and the corn can't get in the way.
 |  |
Stitch close to the edge (I was aiming for about 1/8" away from the edge) without going off the edge. When you get all the way across, turn the bag without lifting the needle and stitch back over what you already sewed.
Clip the threads and voila! You're done!
Just a note of caution: do not leave them outside overnight. They are very resistant to moisture and sunlight but the squirrels or raccoons eventually got the best of ours and tore them apart to get at the corn inside. As long as you don't let them get eaten by the critters, they should last for many games of cornhole so game on!
