Project Cornhole bag holder
*I couldn't think of a good name for this*
*I couldn't think of a good name for this*
My husband and I love to do things outdoors, and what is better than being outdoors playing a game and drinking beer? Not much! If you have been anywhere outside of your house recently you may have noticed the cornhole craze. If not, here's a brief overlook:
1. You have two boards
(we made ours at home. They are tournament size)
My husband graduated from the University of Toledo and I went to Grand Valley State University. We chose to do these in our colleges for two reasons
a. we could use the same color paint since their colors were the same
b. This game originated at the University of Cincinnati as a college game.
2. You also have eight bags made of duck cloth and filled with corn. I wish that I had made these bags after I started this blog. Then I could show you that process.. it's long and not always a breeze.
3. You and your opponent stand at one board and throw the bags at the other board. The goal is to get them in the hole, or at least on the board. You get 3 points for getting it in the hole and 1 point for on the board. Points cancel out, so if one person got one in the whole and none on the board they would have 3 points. However, if their opponent had all 4 of their bags land on the board (none in the whole) they would actually end up with 1 point overall and the other person none. Get it? And don't go over 21 - that's the magic ending number. Because if you do go over then you are sent back to 13. Most people play this game in pairs, so you would have one person from each team at a board.
Here's what a game in progress looks like:
Along with our boards we decided that a bag holder was in need. We were getting tired of trying to not lose any on road trips or just in the garage. So I headed to the store and took a look around and with much pleasure I went to work at it. Here is what happened.....
Because I needed perfect edges I used the rotary cutter. Plus you can cut through multiple layers to make sure you have everything right.For this I used four 11in x 17in and one 11in x 11in pieces of each type of material. You can use just one type of heavy material if you wish, I used two because the referee material was a jersey knit and definitely not strong enough.
I then matched up a piece of lighter fabric with its heavier counter part and sewed all around the edge to make it much easier to work with. Instead of pining them all together. I ended up with 5 pieces to work with opposed to 10.
You don't have to worry about it looking pretty. This will eventually all be hidden.
Sew all sides together(11 x 17) facing inward.
I used an inch seam, but that all depends what you want.
Leave at least two inches at the top of one seam for the rope to go through.
Then sew on the bottom piece (11 x 11) to the sides.
Clean up the excess
material.
Fold over the top edge and hem 1/2 inch or so. This will make the inside look neater when you create an area for the tie. Once you have a "basket" then you take your clothesline, or other type of rope and measure out how much you are going to need to make your final hem around the outside.
Fold over, pin and sew. It will look unfinished until you feed the rope through. I found it easiest to wrap electrical tape around the clothesline about 6 inches at the end. When you are finished pulling it through you will cut this 6 inches off, so make sure you take that into consideration when cutting the length.
Beware of playful kitties!
At this point, begin feeding the rope through the last top hem. When you have both ends out you can finish off the bag by tucking the unfinished edges under and hand sewing them closed.
Once the rope is through and everything cleaned up take some duct tape and wrap around the ends a few times to prevent it from fraying.
Now fill your bag up and enjoy!
Take note that I made this bag larger than needed for the eight bags. I was taking into consideration the possibility of making more in the future and it can help carry other things when going to an outing.
