Christmas Coal Sack, Again, Revamped.

(Last year's Coal Sack)

My BFF and I are gearing up for a Boutique for this Saturday, and we decided that Christmas Coal sacks would likely bring some attention to our little table. Why? Because we want to keep our stockings nice and clean while pulling a good joke on someone on Christmas Morning! But, since we wanted to mass produce them, my Freezer Paper method from last year was not going to be very efficient. I saw a great tutorial on Sew a Straight Line (which, Sabra, now I cant find it!!), and thought it would be perfect for what we were doing. I'll do a recap here for ya.

Gather these items:

Embroidery Hoop larger than desired final image

Sheer Curtain material

Silk Screen Ink-- it is cheaper than you think!

Mod Podge

Paint brushes

Fabric of choice

Scraper thingy

Printed image/text

First, place your curtain in an embroidery hoop TIGHTLY and cut it around so you aren't dragging along a huge curtain everywhere you go :) Place it curtain side down on your printed image, and trace it with a pencil. I chose to write NORTH POLE COAL CO. EST. 1773, same as last year, for the bags. If you wonder, 1773 is the first year Santa Claus appeared in print in the United States.

In the dead of night when my kids were asleep, and the husband was too, I had a little date with my mod podge and small paintbrushes, painting everywhere AROUND the image I had drawn on my screen. Basically, you are simply preventing the ink from going where it shouldn't. I made two screens, one bigger than the other. You can see where the mod podge isn't:

Cut your fabric to size, creating a front and back of your bag. Our cut sizes were 7" x 11". One piece of fabric will be screened. Get this jar out:

Now put your friends to work! Place your embroidery hoop down so your image is where you want it, and put a small glob of ink over your image. Using a scraper or spatula, smooth the ink out over your image. We did ours light and quick so it would have a stamped look. See? Here's an action shot:

When you are satisfied with coverage, carefully pull the screen from your fabric. Be Amazed!!

Do this over, and over, and over. Just don't let your screen dry with the ink on it, or it will not wash out, and you can't use it again. We made a total of 25 bag fronts in probably 15 minutes (not including time spent getting kids fed, diapered, calmed, etc.).

Your screen will be messy, so wash it fast!

Let your image dry. Heat set it according to the directions on the ink, and you are now ready to make the bag! Simply sew the pieces right sides together, on the bottom and sides. Make a double 1/2" hem on top, and you are DONE. Seriously, so fast. So easy. We are going to tie these shut with ribbon at the boutique. You can do a drawstring if you like, but we were going for EASY!

It makes it almost worth it to be a little naughty, doesn't it? I think everyone in my family will be getting a North Pole Coal bag in their stocking!!