I Spy Bags are a really cool activity/toy for a preschooler. They are also super easy to make. It is almost as easy as making a simple pillow. The vinyl window adds a little challenge, making this a good project for an advanced beginner.
Basically, an I Spy Bag is a bean bag with a viewing window. It is filled with poly pellets and novelty buttons and small objects. A child (or grown up!) can sift through the bag, looking through the window, and find the hidden objects. You can make a no-sew I Spy bag using a ziploc bag filled with rice and small objects.
Materials:
1 piece fabric, folded in half to desired size
1 bag poly pellets
assorted novelty buttons and items
1 small piece clear vinyl
thread
sewing machine
Directions:
Cut your fabric to the desired size. I like to make my bags roughly 8" x 8", so I cut a piece that is about 18" x 9".
Cut a square in the center of the fabric. Square should be slightly smaller than the desired window size. My windows are 3.5" x 3.5", so I generally cut a 3" square. Then I cut small diagonal lines at the corners to open up the window.
Cut your clear vinyl much bigger than the hole.
Lay vinyl on wrong side of hole and fold "flaps" (created by diagonal cuts) under so they are "trapped" by the vinyl. Pin vinyl to fabric outside of where you are going to sew. You do not want to put additional holes in the vinyl and fabric at the edge, where you will sew.
Sew around window opening, stitching vinyl and fabric together. I use a narrow double needle for extra reinforcement. I also hold the vinyl and fabric up off the machine, as the vinyl tends to stick which can ruin your stitches.
Make sure your stitches leave no openings!! Trim vinyl down so only 1/4" to 1/2" remains outside seam.
Make sure wrong sides are together, and sew around edges, leaving a small (2-3" opening for turning. You can use a double needle if desired, but you will topstitch which will add reinforcement.
Turn fabric right side out. You should now have an empty bag with a small hole in the top. Choose your novelty buttons and items to go inside bag.
If I leave the buttons sitting out on the table, they have a tendency to disappear.
It doesn't matter if you fill with buttons or poly pellets first. My kids love to help fill the bag with buttons. When you fill with poly pellets, I suggest using a funnel and pouring over a cookie sheet or large rubbermaid lid, because poly pellets make a huge mess when they spill.
After your bag is filled (use your own judgment on how full to stuff it), topstitch around the edge, closing the hole and reinforcing the outer edge.
My bag isn't closed, because I plan on listing it as a custom item on Etsy. See the ABC letters in the photo? I am going to offer the option of customizing those letters so they spell a child's name, a team name, etc. My daughter had fun finding the letters that spell her name inside her I Spy Bags.
16 comments:
Thank you. I have been looking for instructions. church is going to be much quieter!
May I suggest snipping off the shank part of the button with an old pair of scissors or wire cutters? An emery board takes care of any sharp edges.
I just like the no-shank look better on the objects inside.
I like the no-shank idea. Think I'll use that next time I make these :).
I found this from a link on Craftster.org (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=261769.0;all) but just wanted to thank you for explaining so clearly, This looks like an excellent project for a grandmother who has no knitting or crocheting genes.
Thanks so much for popping the instructions on your blog (just found you through EB!) Will have to make one for DD for church as we go to a congregation where the next youngest people to us are in there 70's!
I am going to make one this weekend (hopefully) thanks for the great, detailed instructions
I have seen these on Etsy and loved them. Thank you for the simple instructions! I'm going to link to you on Sunday in my Things to Write Home About post. :)
While it's a cute idea...would you seriously give this to a small child?
LOTS of thins you can choke on in that little bag...
Laurie, I used to sell these bags and was concerned that customers would have the same question as you about the safety of handing over a bag like this to a young child. That was why I created this sew-along. I wanted my customers to see that the edges of the bag are sewn closed and then topstitched for extra security, and that the vinyl window is sewn with a twin needle so it is secure. My kids have abused their bags quite heavily and they have never managed to open one. If you have concerns you can always topstitch around the edges once again for extra protection.
Thanks for visiting! :)
I do have a stupid question but maybe it isn't too stupid. I was wondering if this is something you can take on an airplane. I know in this day and age, it's hard to get things on the plane, is this one of them? I'm really looking for things to take with me on a 13 flight to South Korea with my 3 year old daughter. Thanks!
Janeen, good question. While I can't make any promises about homeland security, I can't imagine this would be considered a threat. I don't think it would trigger any worry on an x-ray, since it just looks like a beanbag. The filling is no different from that of a stuffed animal, and I think those are fine on airplanes. And if there is any question as to what is hidden inside, hand it over to the security folks and let them have some fun looking for all of the hidden objects. ;)
This is the cutest idea! Thank you for sharing your instructions. I hope it's okay that I put a link to this post on another blog: aprongirls.blogspot.com. Let me know if it's not okay. Thanks again for sharing!
I just gave a link to your spy bags on my blog. I should have followed some of your tips and mine would have turned out much better. I look forward to trying it again. Thanks for sharing!
Awsome tutorial! I just finished making a bag for my little guy and was looking around at other people's versions and found this site. I wanted to suggest using small jewelry findings, I snip off the loop and smooth with a small metal file to get rid of any edges. There are some really terrific charms for sale out there, I even find them in the jewelry section at the thrift store for next to nothing sometimes!
LOVE THIS! Where do you find the poly pellets, novelty buttons and small objects? I have found very few interesting buttons at craft stores, etc and haven't found the poly pellets anywhere!
GREAT TIP: there is stuff called Solvey that I buy and pin on both sides of the vinyl and it keeps the vinyl from sticking to the machine and it just dissolves away in water!
I am trying to make my first bags. I found that when I used a tool specifically for cutting the shanks off the buttons, it cut them off really cleanly and completely and I didn't need to sand at all to get a smooth back. Did you like the poly pellets for the stuffing? I didn't think that it hid the items well enough - it is almost like I can see through the pellets. I found that something like wheat or birdseed hid the items better and made it more challenging. But the wheat or birdseed seems to get "dusty" and break down over time, creating a sort of dirty film on the window. Any other ideas? A hint, I put all of the items on the scanner and then scanned and printed them out, with a list of the items on the back. Another hint, when I used a walking foot on my machine, and sewed with the clear plastic on top, I had absolutely no problem sewing it.
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