Craft Foam Bag
Create a no-sew tote bag, shoulder bag or mail bag out of craft foam and infuse it with your personal style.
Materials Needed
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Safety Guidelines
- Always let your child use child-safe scissors.
- Keep the stapler and craft knife out of children's reach.
- Watch out for this sign
. It means you need an adult's help for the particular step.
Steps
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1. | Cut craft foam into an approximate size of 20 in. x 10 in. | |
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2. | Make the basic bag pattern by folding up the length of the craft foam 1/3 of the way. Fold down the opposite end until it overlaps the bottom flap by 1 ½ to 2 inches. | |
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3. |
Unfold the bag's top flap. Punch 6 evenly-spaced holes on either side of the bag. | |
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4. | Cut a length of 1 ½ inch-wide piece of craft foam for the bag strap. The length can range from 24 to 45 inches, depending on how you'd like to carry your bag. A tote bag just needs a short handle, a mail bag needs a really long strap, and a shoulder bag like this one needs a medium-length strap (around 35 inches long). If your craft foam sheet is not long enough, staple shorter straps to make a long one. | |
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Fold each end of the strap in the middle and punch a hole near the bottom edge. This will make a pair of holes on each end of the strap. | |
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6. | Find a large button that matches your bag design. Cut a 3-inch long piece of pipe cleaner and insert its ends through 2 of the button holes. | |
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Push the pipe cleaner ends through the craft foam. Twist the ends at the back. | |
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8. |
Make a horizontal slit on the bag flap to create a button hole. | |
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9. | Now it's time to sew the sides of the bag. Cut a pair of 10-inch long strings and knot each string on one end. | |
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10. | Cut 4 shapes from craft foam and punch a small hole at the center of each shape using the tip of a pencil. String a craft foam shape through each string all the way to the knotted end. Set the 2 other craft foam shapes aside for later. | |
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11. | Use the string with the craft foam shape to sew through one side of the bag, weaving it in and out of the holes. Do not sew through the topmost hole for now. | |
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12. | Connect the bag strap by sewing it with the bag's topmost hole: a.) Fold one end of the craft foam strap so that its pair of holes are aligned. b.) Sandwich the strap between the 2 sheets. Align the bag's topmost holes with those of the strap. c.) Sew on the topmost hole. |
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At the back of the bag, string a craft foam shape as a stopper and make a knot on the string. You can also use beads or buttons as stoppers. | |
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14. | Sew along the bag's opposite edge. | |
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15. | You can round out the corners of your bag's front flap or even go further by styling the edges with a pair of craft scissors. | |
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16. | Decorate your bag with a variety of materials such as craft foam shapes, stickers, buttons, beads, sequins, rhinestones, glitter glue, puffy paint, etc. | |
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Earth Friendly Tips 
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