Easy Bean Bag Tutorial

This is the perfect project for a beginner sewist! It was my very first project as a kid. I made some recently for a teacher friend and thought it would be an awesome teacher's gift! These bean bags are washable, and so fun to play with!

The Materials:

Fabric (higher quality = longer lasting!) One Fat Quarter (18"x20") will make 6 bean bags

Sewing Machine + Thread for machine sewing (definitely can be done by hand, too!)

Your choice of stuffing - I used Poly Pellets which I bought from Amazon, but you can also use beans, rice, popping corn, etc.

The Process:

Use scissors or rotary cutter (easiest) to cut 4 1/2 inch squares. You will need 2 squares for 1 bean bag finished. For 6 bean bags, cut 12 squares.

Carefully place right sides together and use a pin to keep intact. 

If using a sewing machine, engage the "needle down" button and sew along the edge, using a 1/4" seam allowance. Stop and pivot at the corners. Be sure to leave at least 2 inches to turn it right side out!

Remember to sew with right sides together!

Clip the corners for a clean, sharp corner.

Flip the bean bag right side out and give it a quick press with an iron to make sure it lays flat. This will help it look clean and perfect. 

Top stitch about 1/8" around the edge, still leaving that 2" hole open! 

(Note: make sure to top-stitch before filling the bean bag or you will think you've gone crazy when you try to top-stitch after. Trust me.)

After you've top-stitched like a pro, fill the bag with your choice of filling! To make it washable, I filled mine with poly pellets. I measured 1/3 cup and filled it using a spoon, but a funnel would be MUCH easier!!

The last step is to sew the opening closed. Make sure you back-stitch at the beginning and end to make sure everything stays in place. Snip hanging threads and that's it!

To see my post on 3 ways to use these bean bags as a learning tool, click here.

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Sewing + Learning

My first ever sewing project was a bean bag toy. 

I was about five years old, and my mom taught me the basics of hand sewing. It was (is) probably the easiest sewing project anyone can come up with (along with pillows and napkins and super simple baby blankets). But bean bags are small. Bean bags are entertaining. Bean bags are made of resources already available in the home. I had so much joy knowing that I had actually made something; and it was fun to play with, too! Way to go, mom!

My friend Felice, TheDabblingSpeechie, is a super fantastic Speech Pathologist. Her blog is so helpful for educators AND parents! She has TONS of free printables too! Felice loves to do hands-on activities with her students. When she found out I could sew, she asked me to make some bean bags.

Bean bags! Of course!

I discovered that instead of using beans or rice to fill the bags (which is still an excellent option), I could use Poly Pellets, which are washable! Since these bean bags are meant to be used in a classroom, being washable is a huge plus! I found some cute fabric and went to work! Don't you wish you were a kid again so you could play with these??

 If you work with kids, listen up: kids love hands-on activities! Kids learn with hands-on activities! Since these bean bags are washable, you can take them outside, too!

Many people are kinesthetic learners, which means they learn best when manipulating objects physically (think: doing addition problems on your fingers, doodling during a lecture, being creative with art projects). Bean bag toys have so much potential as a learning toy in the classroom!

Here are just a few ideas:

1. Word Building: Use bean bag to cover up a letter in a word, like CAT. Have student come up with as many variations as possible using different letters for the covered letter. (i.e. CAT - BAT, HAT, RAT, etc.)

2.  Basket Toss: After answering a review or study question from the teacher, students can toss the bean bag into a basket for a chance to earn points for their group! Great review game!

3. Bean Bag Toss: Students team up and pass bean bag back & forth. Each student takes a step back as they answer a question from the teacher OR come up with as many rhyming words as possible! Whichever team drops the bean bag first looses!

I can't wait to see what kinds of hands-on activities Felice will do with these bean bags. Thanks for the idea!