In Elementary, Middle School

Savvy and environmentally conscious trick-or-treaters can take their creativity to the next level by designing a ghoulish trick-or-Halloween Batik Treat Bag customized to accessorize his or her costume!

A great outfit means nothing without the right bag, and Halloween is no different!  Why spend weeks planning a fabulous Halloween costume down to the last detial, only to grab that old school orange pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket as you’re running out the door?

Made out of a pillowcase and created in one afternoon using a simple glue batik process, this cool treat bag is spacious enough to hold three times the average eight year old’s body weight in delicious sugary loot, with room left to stash that pesky coat your parents always insist you wear over your costume!

You Need:

  • Pillowcase (or two or three… this is super fun and once you get going you’ll want to crank them out!)
  • Washable school glue
  • A scrap piece of cardboard large enough to fit inside the pillowcase
  • Pencil
  • Sharpie
  • Paper
  • Various colors of acrylic paint. *Note: acrylic paint doesn’twash out of fabric, so wear clothes that can get messy.
  • Paintbrush

How to Do It:

  • Draw a few sketches of how you want your bag to look. Get creative! The goal is to come up with a fun, unique and original way to tie your bag into your costume theme.
  • Draw the final design on a large sheet of paper (slightly smaller than the pillowcase) and trace with a Sharpie.
  • Tape the picture onto the cardboard, and insert the cardboard into the pillowcase.
  • Trace the design on the pillowcase with washable school glue. All areas where glue is applied will be white in the end. The glue needs to be applied thick enough to be visible, but avoid puddling. Use a paintbrush as needed to spread the glue in large areas.
  • Gently remove the cardboard and lay the pillowcase flat to dry. Hanging it will cause the glue to drip. The two sides of the pillowcase may stick together as it dries but that’s ok. Drying time is approximately 1-2 hours. On warm, low humidity days, lay the pillowcase outside to speed drying time.
  • After the glue is dry, gently pry the two sides of the pillowcase apart (if necessary) and insert the cardboard back in to the pillowcase to prevent the paint from bleeding through to the other side.
  • Paint with watered-down acrylic paint and hang to dry for approximately 30 – 45 minutes.
  • When the paint is dry, soak the pillowcase in warm water for a few minutes to soften the glue then rinse to remove final traces of glue, gently scrubbing where necessary. Hang to dry.
  • As an option, cut small slits in the hem of the pillowcase and thread a rope or ribbon to create a tie closure and carrying handle.

Halloween Batik Treat Bag

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Showing 2 comments
  • Donna Frasca
    Reply

    What a great idea! I remember seeing a similar project with pillow cases. We used Jello® and made tie dyed cased.

    You would really have ‘sweet’ dreams using jello – and it smelled great too! Colorful project, thank you.

  • Donna Frasca
    Reply

    What a great idea! I remember seeing a similar project with pillow cases. We used Jello® and made tie dyed cases.

    You would really have ‘sweet’ dreams using jello – and it smelled great too! Colorful project, thank you.

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