How To Make Pirate Party Bags

When The Boy had his pirate party recently, I decided that plastic 'loot' bags weren't going to cut it for authenticity so I bought some hessian fabric from eBay and made my own loot bags.

The hessian was neatly woven along one side already, which is the side I used for the opening. Each bag measured 15cmx25cm, requiring a rectangle of hessian measuring 33cmx27cm which was folded over and stitched along the one side and base using a sewing machine. I tied the bag using natural garden twine.

I'm a stickler for party bags at children's parties and hate most of the cheap tat that comes in them; I'd rather spent 25p more a bag for some relevant and quality items than give something which is pointless. Cheap sweets and plastic toys are a waste of the host's money, and are usually forgotten within half an hour of the party.

With clever shopping and a bit of time, quality and relevant contents for a party bag can be found in supermarkets, pound shops and craft stores. eBay is also brilliant for party bag contents!

Inside each bag there was:

• a treasure chest (decorated by the children during the party as one of the activities) – Baker Ross
• a pirate pencil – Wilkinson's sale section
• a working compass – Asda
• a party blower (pirate themed) – Wilkinson's
• a maze (pirate themed) – Wilkinson's
• pirate stickers – Asda
• chocolate coins – saved from Christmas when they're a lot cheaper!
• bubbles (pirate themed) – Wilkinson's

The hessian bags worked out exactly the same price as a standard bag. The fabric was £2.49 a metre and I made ten bags out of half of the fabric which meant they cost 12p each. The items listed above were between 10p-25p each. The treasure chests were the single most expensive item at 99p each, but they were also one of the activities that the children did during the party so have a dual purpose with cost. The total cost of each bag (without the chest) was £1.12.