No Sew Trick or Treat Pillowcase Tote

I saw a few cute ideas for trick or treat bags but couldn't find the one I had pictured in my mind - more like a backpack tote that could be carried easily and the candy will stay inside if there are races between houses - so I figured I'd try to make it up myself.

I started with a pillowcase (classic halloween tote!) and 62" of soft rope/cord that is sort of like clothesline. Cut 2 holes thru both layers 11" down from the top, about 6" apart and thread the rope thru with the middle of the rope centered in the front (I tied a knot in the center to keep it in place). Then cut a small hole in each bottom corner, run the end thru the hole and tie a knot. That just formed the backpack straps.

There will be 2 ropes running thru the center of the bag on the inside, but there is plenty of room to put candy around them into the bag (even if someone is passing out full size candy bars!!). I wore the backpack around the house with 4 pounds of candy in it just to test it out (my husband didn't even ask what I was doing, apparently he isn't fazed anymore by some of my actions!) and it held fine without reinforcing the rope holes or making special knots in the bottom - good news!

I rolled down the top of the pillowcase to just above where the rope is in the front and hot glued it in place all the way around. Then I ruffled 2 pieces of ribbon (folding it back and forth every couple of inches to create the ruffles) and hot glued them on top of the rolled down part to decorate it.

To finish I printed off a bat template from my computer and traced around it with silver fabric paint, then I took a little brush and smudged the paint so it wasn't a hard line. Let it dry for a couple of hours and you're done.