Monogrammed Felt Bag Tutorial

This Easter, we're going to visit family in Pennsylvania, and we'll get to see two of our nieces, Sydney (5) and Morgan (2), who live in Ohio. I wanted to give each of them a little gift, so I thought of making them felt bags to hold some crafty goodies (and some M&M's). Laura, if you're reading this, don't let the girls see what they're getting!

A little sketch pad and some stickers. When I was little, I couldn't get enough stickers! (I still love stickers) And some age appropriate markers/paint (washable of course). 


I seem to have an abundance of felt in my craft closet, so that's what I used. Two pieces per bag, and some extra felt for the monogram and circle.

Felt sizes vary. This one was 12 inches by 9 inches.
Cut TWO PIECES OF FELT like the photo above:
-One 12 inch by 2 inch piece will be the handle
-Two 7 inch by 7 inch squares for the front and back
-Three 7 inch by 2.5 inch pieces for the left side, right side, and bottom
(You will have two pieces leftover)

Your pieces should look like this. Cut a 4 inch circle out of a different color. Draw a letter for the monogram on another color and cut it out. 

Sew the letter to the circle. Then sew the circle to the front of a 7 inch by 7 inch square. Make sure its front and center. 

For this bag, I wanted the seams to be outward. No need for turning inside out or perfection. Stack one of the 7 inch by 2.5 inch strips under the bottom of the 7 inch by 7 inch square front. Sew it to the bottom edge. Then sew the other end to the other 7 inch by 7 inch square back. 

Here's a closeup view. If they don't line up perfectly, it's ok. The side panels will fix that. That's what makes it handmade, right?

Next, sew the two remaining 7 inch by 2.5 inch strips (side panels) to the bottom flap. You don't have to sew quite all the way to the edges. When you sew up the sides, you will sew all the way down, and connect the corners. It should look like a cross. Above is the inside view.

This is the outside view. 

Now sew up all the sides. Line them up, pin in place if needed, and sew the front to the side panels and the back to the side panels. I started at the top (the opening of the bag) and sewed down to the bottom (making sure to connect the corners). 

When you're done, it should look like this, and be able to stand up. It's just needs a handle. 

 Sew the 12 inch by 2 inch handle to the top of the side panels. 

Now you have an adorable felt bag, perfect for giving Easter, birthday or anytime goodies! 

And it's personalized with their initial. As you can see, I had a little trouble sewing on the "S". The "M" was much easier! 

Easy to make and fun to give!