DIY No Sew Buffalo Check Tote Bag

I threw together this buffalo check tote bag out of sheer necessity. You see, we were on our way to a Trunk or Treat when I realized that I had no treat bags for the kids. We had a teensy bit of  time to get to the event, so we detoured to our local Target to pick up some trick or treat bags.

You all KNOW that Target is my go-to for just about everything, so I was expecting it to come through in this pinch.

Mind you, it was Saturday afternoon and there was not one parking spot to be found.

It was a cold day, and I knew that no parkings spots meant equally long checkout lines. So I did the unthinkable. I turned out of Target and scooted over to JoAnn Fabrics. What!? Let’s step back for a minute here. If you have ever taken children to a Joann Fabric store, you KNOW that their checkout lane is a gauntlet of treats, stuffed animals and other “beg” items.

Not only that, but their line is typically a looooong wait. I have no idea what I was thinking, but it seemed like the lesser of two evils at the time. 

MIND you, JoAnn already moved on from Halloween BEFORE Halloween even happened. We walked in and found the Halloween section relegated to two small endcaps. The rest of the store was taken over by Christmas. What!? So I had to get a little bit creative with our treat bags.

I came out of JoAnn with two canvas tote bags and plans to make the kids  buffalo check tote bags for Halloween. The plain old totes would have to do for the trunk or treat. And you know what? The final bags turned out so cute! Hop onto My Sweet Lilac on Facebook for a quick video of the bags coming together.

Supplies For Buffalo Check Tote Bag

• Canvas tote bags
• Buffalo check felt (Found in store at JoAnn. You could also make any fabic into an iron on with this tutorial from the Crafting Chicks)
• Brown felt
• Iron ironing board
• Hot glue gun kit
• Scissors

How to Make Buffalo Check Tote Bag

Step 1: Iron the tote bag.The bags come pretty wrinkled, so I would definitely iron it first. I spritzed a little Downy Wrinkle Releaser on my totes, but plain water would also do the trick.

Step 2: Cut out your pumpkin stencil. Let’s be real. If you are not artsy enough to freehand a pumpkin, like me, google “pumpkin” and pick an image with a shape you like. Make sure to separate the stem from the pumpkin for tracing purposes. You could also just trace a bowl if you fancy a perfectly round gourd. I traced on the backside of my felt for a cleaner finished product.

Step 3: Cut out your pumpkin. I like to use felt scissors for this.

Step 3: Moving quickly, since the glue dries fast! Put glue on the outer edge of the pumpkin. Turn the pumpkin over carefully and adhere to the bag. Repeat the process with the stem. To make sure the pumpkin gets centered on the bag, you may want to find the center of your bag and lightly trace an outline with chalk or a fabric pen. This will give you an easy target to hit.

Step 4: Press the pumpkin firmly onto the fabric.Now step back and admire your new tote bag!

I love how these turned out. The kids took these totes trick-or-treating and they held up great! I was worried about the glue getting too cold (since it was about 40 degrees here on Halloween). But it held it’s stick! We have leftover buffalo check felt, so I’m thinking about making a few more totes to use as holiday gift bags. Wouldn’t these be cute with a reindeer instead of a pumpkin?