DIY Monsters University Trick-or-Treat Bag

I’m so excited to share a monstrously fun project with you today (as part of a spon­sored cam­paign with Blue­print Social for Dis­ney) to cel­e­brate the release of  Monsters University on Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack! Did you see Monsters University in theaters? We did and we loved it (you can read our Monsters U review here)!! The movie hits stores on October 29th just in time for Halloween (you can pre-order #MonstersU online here)! Given our love of the Monsters movies and the great timing of the movie being released, we decided on a family Monsters University theme for Halloween. And, every little scarer needs a Monsters U trick-or-treat bag to go with their costume!  I’m so excited with the way this turned out, especially because this is my first-ever sewing project!! And it was really pretty easy! So, to make your own Monsters University tote/trick-or-treat bag you’ll either need to find a plain blue cloth/canvas tote bag (that’s the easier method, though probably more expensive) OR you can sew a simple tote bag like I did! If you’re not sewing a bag, then all you need is the felt for this project & you can ignore the other directions! 😉 But, I going to explain what I did to make the bags….

Supplies (for 1 tote bag):

• 1/2 yard royal blue/navy cotton fabric (I found broadcloth for $1.99/yard).
• 1 sheet each of blue, white, and black felt
• fabric glue
• fabric scissors
• iron
• sewing machine

Directions:

The bag is fairly simple to sew (a good beginner project). You’ll basically be creating a basic pillowcase shape. So, I didn’t follow any pattern. I’m sure you can find a pattern out there if you need one. To start, fold the fabric in half (so there is a folded crease at one end and open at the “top”). Cut about 4 inches off the open top piece (to be used for handles later). You’ll be left with a sort of large square of fabric. We started sewing by folding over the top 3 times (about a 1 inch band). This gives the open top a little more support for attaching handles to. Once that is sewn, then you can sew the sides up. Since our boys are young, I decided to make the bags a little smaller and came in about 1-2 inches on both sides when sewing that up. At this point, you have a very basic “pillow case”/bag shape. To make it a bag, you need handles. That part took a little more time, but wasn’t overly complex. To make the handles, fold each open edge of the fabric strips in towards the center. Then, fold in half again so you have one folded edge and one open edge (the strip will then be about an inch wide). Run the open edge through the sewing machine. And, just to keep things consistent & symmetrical, sew the folded edge too. Then, you need to attach the handles to the bag. Make sure you go over that a few times for extra stability – the “X” makes the sturdiness look a little nicer too!  Once that’s done, iron the bag as needed.

So, now that you have a simple bag, you need to make it Monsters U themed. And, that part is SO easy! You just need some felt, glue, and the “MU” letters. You’ll want to use a “Freshman font” or just find an image of the “MU” letters online and print (that’s what I did) for a template. Trace you template letters onto the felt (I did it on the back like a reverse image so that the pencil marks wouldn’t show). Then, cut everything out and glue together to match the “MU” letters.Using fabric glue, attach the letters on to the tote bag (just make sure you slip a piece of cardboard or magazine into the bag to prevent the glue from going through). Once that’s dry, then it’s ready to use! The boys are so excited for Halloween though, we couldn’t resist giving things a little test run this morning! Given all the stress we’ve had here lately, we decided to purchase the older boys’ costumes (who are going as Mike & Sully). Little Brother is going as Mike and Big Brother will be Sully. The rest of us will be general Monsters University students with some fun DIY costumes! 😉 Isn’t he SO cute?! Love it! The bag really helps complete the look (as will Mike’s hands & feet once I get those made)! He is SO excited for Halloween! One more for cuteness overload…
For more monstrous fun, you can check out this post that features over 35 super fun Monsters fun foods & crafts … and check out all the posts below from the other bloggers sharing fun #MonstersU ideas this month! There are so many scarily creative ideas! 🙂

For more from #MonstersU…

• Like MONSTERS UNIVERSITY on Facebook
• Fol­low MonstersU on Twitter
• Monsters-University of Pinterest

Are YOU (or your kids) excited for Monsters University on dvd?