How to make cornhole bags

Do you want to learn how to make your own cornhole bags? A few weeks ago Tony made some amazing cornhole boards, and my contribution to this DIY project was to make the cornhole bags. If you’re not familiar with cornhole, this is a great backyard game that you can easily play with one hand, while your other hand is holding a cold delicious bevy. All you have to do is throw a bean bag at a board and get it in the hole, and keep track of your points. Easy right? Today I’m going to show you how to make your own corn hole bags approximately 6″ by 6″ to go with your cornhole boards. 

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Tools and Supplies

• 8 squares of suede, 7″ × 7″
• 8 squares of cotton canvas, 7″ × 7″
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Pins or sewing clips
• Scissors or rotary cutter
• Funnel
• Kitchen scale
• Corn or synthetic filling

1. Cut the fabric

I chose two different types of fabric for these cornhole bags. One side is a suede, and the other side is a sturdy cotton canvas. The idea here is that if you’re any good at cornhole, you can choose which side of the bag lands face down. The cotton will slide along the board, but the suede will stick where it lands. You will cut the fabric in squares 7″ by 7″, and have a total of 16 squares. 

2. Pin the squares together

Next pin the squares (using sewing pins or clips) right sides together using straight pins. I had two contrasting colors for the front, and the same solid color for the backs of the bags. Of course, the colors had to match Tony’s favorite football team.

3. Sew them together

Using your sewing machine (here is a nice option), sew the bags together using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Leave about a 2″ hole on one edge of the bag to allow for turning.

Just to be safe, I did a second seam right beside the first to make doubly sure no beans would escape. For this project, you should use a heavy duty outdoor thread. 

4. Trim the bags

Then trim the excess fabric along the seams using either fabric scissors or a rotary blade, as well as clip the corners. This ensures that there’s not too much bulk along the seams.

5. Turn the cornhole bags

This is the fun part. Turn those bags inside out and press out the corners. Now they’re starting to take the shape of a cornhole bag

6. Fill them up

There are several options you can use to fill your cornhole bag. The cheapest and easiest option is just plain old corn, which is what I used. I measured out 1 pound (or 16 ounces) of corn using my kitchen scale…

…and then used a funnel to pour the corn into each bag. You could also use a synthetic filling instead of real corn.  

7. Stitch up the holes

The last step is to sew the hole by hand. I just doubled up some outdoor thread and did a simple stitch using a needle. 

And that is How to make cornhole bags…

In summary – cut the fabric, sew the fabric, trim and turn, fill them up, then sew them shut. Now it’s time to go outside and play a game of cornhole! If you want to learn how to play cornhole, here are the official rules.