Bean Bag Toss {Tutorial}
Last week we guest blogged over at Sawdust and Paperscraps for Handmade Christmas in July. In case you missed our post over there we wanted to make sure you would see it here! This was an awesome project to work on. We called it a “Bean Bag Toss” for appropriate reasons; however, in the south we call it “cornhole”. This project incorporated both sewing and wood working and because of that was the perfect project for us to make. I will preface that this is not an inexpensive project to make. In the end I want to say we spent roughly $40 (and that’s with scrap wood we had on hand). Granted a few of the supplies we had to buy in “bulk”, so now we have them for future bean bag toss projects.
Materials Needed for Bean Bag Toss Tables:
Two pieces of ½ inch thick plywood cut to 2-foot x 4-foot
Four, 8-foot 2×4’s
Four, 4½ – inch long, 3/8-inch long carriage bolts
Four, 3/8-inch flat washers
Four, 3/8-inch wing nuts
1 box of 2½-inch wood screws wood filler
1-quart polycrylic
Cut the 2×4’s. You will need 4 pieces at 21-inches each and 4 pieces at 4-feet each. Using the 4-foot and 21-inch pieces, construct the tables’ frames with wood screws.
Measure 9-inches from the top of the plywood pieces and 12-inches from the sides and mark a center point for the hole. Use a compass to draw a circle 6-inches in diameter. Cut the hole with a jigsaw.
Place the plywood surface on the frame and screw in place.
Using the remaining 2×4 pieces cut 4 pieces for the legs of your tables. They will need to be 11-5/8 inches long with one end cut to a 99-degree angle. You want to round the opposite ends of the legs, so you can fold them away for storage.
Drill a hole in the frame.
Attach the rounded edge of the leg with the carriage bolts.
*Screw the flat washer and wing nut onto the carriage bolt.
Mr. Woodsy hard at work putting on the legs!
Fill all holes and blemishes with the wood filler, allow time to dry and sand your tables smooth. *Remember to sand along with the edges, too.
If keeping the natural look, dust your tables then paint with polycrylic. *If painting dust and prime them. Allow time to dry before painting with a semi or high-gloss latex paint.
Materials for the Bean Bags:
Sixteen, 7-inch by 7-inch squares of duck or outdoor cloth (2 colors, 8 per color)
Thread, Scissors, Straight pins
8 pounds of feed corn
Place two squares of cloth together face-to-face and sew a double-stitch with a ½-inch in-seam. Only sew three of the four sides.
Once your squares are sewn, turn each bag inside out (poke the corners out with a pencil). The bag will be 6-inches square.
Fill bag with 2 cups of feed corn. (Hence why this game is called Cornhole in the south) Bag should weigh approximately 1-pound when finished.
Fold the open ends of fabric inward 1/2 –inch, pin in place to keep corn in while you sew and double-stitch the seam.
Here is what it will look like when it’s on the machine. I bent 2 needles while sewing 8 bean bags. Make sure you are using a heavy-duty needle, and sewing slowly. It is extremely important that no corn go near the presser foot and needle! I wanted to top stitch around the entire bean bag, but after bending multiple needles I decided to not chance any more fatalities and just top stitch what needed to be stitch up (and move on)!
Repeat with remaining bags, until all 8 bags are completed.
Here is what the finished beanbags looked like.
Here is Mr. Woodsy testing out our new game!
Mr. Woodsy posing with his latest woodworking creation– demonstrating how easy it is to store (the legs fold in).
We hope you enjoyed reading about creating your very own bean bag toss. Last weekend while scalloping in North-West Florida we brought this set to our friends. They love it! We even personalized it with some vinyl cut from the cricut. Stay tuned for a vinyl 101 tutorial!
Love the folding legs!
Awesome, there is a game called, washers, same board but using washers instead of bean bags. I like the bean bag idea, esp. for kids. Storage Idea: a bag with velcro flap or zipper, big enough to hold the bean bags, can be made and either nailed or stapled to the underside of the board to hold the bean bags..:) from Pam Keefover
So fun, I love this game!
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Wonderful Tutorial. My husband is in the middle of building his own set right now – and then we're going to Gator the heck out of it!
I posted this tutorial on my facebook page for http://www.sheskindacrafty.blogspot.com!
Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. We’re making these for our daughters outdoor reception next spring.
That’s awesome! How cool is it that you can make the bean bags coordinate with the wedding colors?
I just wanted to add a comment about the bean bag toss. Our son has issues with fine motor skills and this is a huge help for him to develop . Thank you so much for sharing .
Glad our tutorial could be of value to you and your family!
Fabulous tutorial…easy to follow! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Jill! I’m so glad it helped you build your own!
Try top stitching around 3 sides plus part of the 4th side before you put the corn in. Then you will just have a part of a seam to top stitch after the corn is in.
thank you for the feature!