Glow in the Dark Spider Web Treat Bag
Growing up, I was a big fan of Halloween. I always had a great time going to the store with my mom to pick out the fabric for my costume; and I loved getting dressed up and bobbing for apples at the school party. But what I loved most of all was trick-or-treating, and not just because of the candy. It was wild and thrilling to be out and about roaming the streets after dark, on a school night, getting free candy. To this day, when I think of Halloween I envision the foggy little streets of my hometown, Albany, California, dotted with roaming bands of witches, cats, and robots.
The one thing missing from the Halloweens of my youth was a festive candy bag (I just used a brown grocery sack or a pillow case.) But if I could go back in time, I know my 7 year old self would have loved this super cool Glow in the Dark Spider Web Treat Bag. It’s just the right mix of whimsical and spooky. And it’s a snap to make! All you need is one hank of Glow in the Dark DMC embroidery floss, one 18-inch square of Wool Felt, and one yard of grosgrain ribbon, and you’re set to spin your own web!
Happy Halloween!– Molly
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Molly Schnick. Click here to see even more of Molly’s work!
Materials
To make one bag:
- 1 18-inch square of 100% Wool Felt in Navy
- 1 hank of DMC Glow in the Dark Embroidery Floss
- 1 yard White 25mm Grosgrain Ribbon
- 100% cotton thread in color 6250
Size
8 1/2-inches by 10 3/4-inches
Pattern
Cutting
Cut the felt into two 9-inch by 11 1/2-inch pieces.
Cut two 16-inch lengths from the ribbon. Put these aside for now.
Marking
Using a Hera Marker, a pencil, or a fabric marker mark one of the felt pieces in half lengthwise, widthwise, and diagonally in both directions:
It’s hard to see markings on something this dark so make sure that you’ve marked it sufficiently before you start embroidering.
Embroidery
Using a long and close together running stitch sew along the marked lines.
Make sure that the lines meet up neatly in the middle. If any of these lines look messy or aren’t straight just pull them out, felt is very forgiving when it comes to embroidery.
Version 1: Curved Web
Starting roughly 1 1/2-inches from the center embroider a concave curve from one of the straight embroidered lines to the adjacent straight line as shown above.
Repeat this until you loop back to the first curve. Make sure the last curve meets up with the first. Don’t worry if they don’t seem symmetrical, the irregularities makes it beautiful.
Repeat this process 1 1/2-inches out from the first curves loop.
And finally add a third layer or curves in the same manner.
Version 2: Spiral Web
Starting roughly 1/2-inch from the center stitch a spiral connecting all of the straight lines as shown above.
Keep stitching in a spiral until the spiral reaches 1/2-inch from the edge.
Finishing
Fold and pin the top of both of the bag panels 1/2-inch towards the wrong side.
Slide a cut piece of ribbon into this fold, 1 1/2-inches from the left and right sides. Make sure not to twist the ribbon.
Fold the ribbon upwards so that the ends are encased inside the fold. Pin it into place.
Sew the fold and handles down with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.
Pin the panels together, right sides together.
Sew the panels together along the left, bottom and right sides.
Snip off the bottom corners.
Turn the bag right sides out and press it flat.
Now go trick or treating!
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This is an absolutely brilliant idea, I didn't realise you could get glow in the dark thread! This is a definite must for the kids for halloween!
This is amazing! May I ask how long a web would take to hand embroider? I'd love to do it, but I'm afraid of the time commitment…
Hi Kim-
The embroidery doesn't take very long at all. The quickest version is #2- The Spiral Web- and it should take about 45 minutes to an hour to embroider.
Thank you for your question!
– Molly
This is a super cute idea. Instead of the glow in the dark thread, I used regular orange floss and I found some reflective ribbon at Joann's for $.97 so I'll be using that for my daughter's bag. I also scaled it down to make a small treat bag for my daughter's teacher. Thanks for this!