DIY Whimsical Wedding Favor Bags

Colorful, hand-stamped cotton muslin bags filled with goodies are the perfect way to treat your wedding guests to some whimsical fun! Stateline Bag Co. graciously contributed some of tbeir drawstring bags to a few of the editors here at Craft Gossip, and I was delighted to receive some samples. And the best news? Stateline is sponsoring a giveaway of these bags right here at Craft Gossip! One reader will receive 100 of the 6 x 8 drawstring cotton bags! The giveaway ends September 11th, so be sure to visit this post for all the details! Best wishes to all the entrants!

In the meantime, here’s a quick and easy tutorial for favors that will keep kids busy and provide a fun ice breaker for your adult wedding guests: hand-stamped bags filled with crayons and a coloring journal!

To make the bags you will need:

6 X 8 100% cotton muslin bags from Stateline Bag Co.

Box of Crayons

Blank coloring journal

Black Ink {Ranger Archival Ink, Staz-On or other fabric-friendly ink}

Banner Stamp {Hobby Lobby}

Sentiment Stamp: “Life is about using the whole box of crayons” {Hobby Lobby}

Fabric-friendly markers {I used Pentel Arts Color Pens}

Scrap cardstock {same size as bag} This will be inserted inside the muslin bag to prevent the ink from bleeding through when you stamp and color the images.

Stamp the front of the bag with the banner stamp. Allow to dry {or use a heat tool to speed the process}

Use fabric-fabric-friendly markers to color in the banner pieces. You may wish to color the images, allow to dry, and then add another layer of color for the best coverage.

Scribble stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue crayons as shown.

Stamp the sentiment on top of the crayon stripes

Fill the bag with a box of crayons and a coloring book or journal and let the fun begin!

Quick Tip: I made the same favor bag in the smaller 4 x 6 size and replaced the drawstring with pretty 1/4″ silk ribbon from May Arts. To easily replace the string, attach the end of the ribbon to the end of one side of the drawstring using masking tape. Gently pull the other end of the drawstring to thread the ribbon through the channel. Snip off the taped end and you have a custom tie for your favor bags!

Many thanks to Stateline Bag Co. for sponsoring this post and for the giveaway! Don’t forget to enter before September 11th!

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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