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Santa's Toy Sack

Santa's Toy Sack

Watch eyes light up on Christmas morning when your little ones walk in to a sack full of Santa's gifts! This jumbo-sized drawstring bag is the perfect way to add a little festivity to your Christmas gift-giving, and it's surprisingly simple to make, too!

Supplies & Materials:

Project Needs & Notes
- 1/2 yard craft felt for embroidered piece
- 1 1/2 yards lightweight canvas for outer shell
- 1 1/2 yards crepe-backed satin for lining
- 1/2 yard faux fur -- two 27" x 6" pieces
- 4 yards decorative cord for drawstring
- Medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer
- Double-stick fusible web
- Safety pin

The design used in this tutorial include the  E5782, Santa's Toy Shoppe Sign  design. Find even more festive designs in the Christmas category  here .

Finished Size:  14 1/2" wide x 21 1/2" high x 12" deep

Gather Materials:

Begin by embroidering the fabric for the panel on the bag.

Cut a piece of craft felt a little larger than your hoop.

Hoop it with a piece of cutaway stabilizer.

Embroider the design.

Embroidery hoop stretched with white fabric on a wooden table, with additional pieces of cream and beige fabric underneath.

Start Embroidering:

After embroidering, turn the piece over so the back is facing up.

Measure and mark 1" out from the outer edges of the design.

Embroidery hoop with "Santa's Toy Shoppe" stitching in red and green on white fabric, featuring a rocking horse, a mouse, and stitched holly leaves.

Draw lines connecting the marks and cut out the shape.

There's no need to cut the stabilizer away from the back.

Piece of white fabric with colorful embroidered text and holly decoration, partially cut out with orange-handled scissors on a brown surface.

Next, prepare the fabric for the outer shell of the sack.

Cut two pieces of lightweight canvas to 28" x 28". Align the pieces, right sides together.

Pin in place.

Sew a 1/2" seam along the side and bottom edges, leaving the top edge open.

Square piece of fabric with pink grid pattern pinned on edges, folded back to show red fabric with a darker red check pattern, on wooden surface.

Leaving the outer shell wrong side out, pinch each bottom corner and align the side seams with the bottom seams.

Measure and mark up 6 1/4" from the bottom corners. Draw a line perpendicular to the seam. 

Pin in place and sew a seam along the line you just drew.

Hand holding a blue pen marking light red checkered fabric with a transparent ruler on a dark wood table.

Trim off the corners leaving about 1/2" excess fabric at the seams.

Piece of pink and white patterned fabric being cut on a wooden surface with orange-handled scissors, small triangular piece already cut off.

Turn the outer shell right side out and lay it flat.


Add the fusible web to the backside of the embroidered piece (refer to the fusible web instructions).

Position the embroidered piece in the center of the outer shell about 6" from the top edge. Iron the embroidered piece in place; use a pressing cloth to protect the embroidery.

Red and white checkered fabric laid flat on a surface with a white patch embroidered in red and green reading "Santa's Toy Shoppe, Guaranteed Santa Approved." A hand with a ring is touching the patch.

Stitch the embroidered piece in place by sewing a decorative stitch (like a blanket stitch) around the outer edge.

Close-up of an embroidery machine stitching a design on a red and white plaid fabric. The embroidery reads "Santa's Toy Shoppe" with holly leaves, stars, and a reindeer.

Using crepe-backed satin, prepare the inner lining the same as you did the outer shell.

Insert the lining inside the outer shell, wrong sides together.

Pin in place and tack the raw edges together by sewing a 1/2" seam along the entire top edge.

Red fabric with a grid pattern and a white satin lining pinned inside. A rectangular embroidery label with green text is partially visible inside the lining.

Prepare the casings for the drawstrings. 

Cut two pieces of lightweight canvas to 29" x 3". 

Fold the short ends in 1/2" to the wrong side and then again another 1/2" and press.

Sew a 1/4" seam along each short end.


A white and red plaid fabric strip is being pressed with a Black & Decker Steam Iron on a light blue ironing board cover.

Fold each long side of each piece 1/2" in to the wrong side and press.

Align the pieces along the seam at the top edge at the front and back of the sack. This will leave 1/2" of excess fabric at the top edge of the sack.

Pin in place and sew a 1/8" seam along the long sides only. Do not sew along the short ends.

Red and white checked fabric sack with a stitched red loop handle. Part of a circular embroidered patch with "Santa's" and holly leaves visible. Wood grain table background.


To prepare the faux fur trim, cut two pieces of the faux fur to 27" x 6".

Align the pieces together, right sides facing, and sew a 1/2" seam at each short end only.

Insert the fur section inside the sack, right sides together, with the top edge of the fur aligned with the top edge of the sack.

Pin in place and sew a 1/2" seam along the entire top edge.

Close-up of an unfinished fabric bag with red plaid exterior and white interior pinned in place on a dark wood surface.

Bring the bottom edge of the fur up around the top edge of the sack and align it with the top edges of the drawstring casings (wrong side of fur on right side of sack).

Sew a 1/4" seam along the entire bottom edge of the fur section. Be careful to not stitch over the drawstring casings.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching white faux fur to red and white plaid fabric, with a sewing foot and needle clearly visible in use.

Cut two 72" pieces of cord. 

Attach a safety pin to one end of one of the cords. Work the pin end of the cord through the front casing starting at the right. Then, insert the cord through the back casing starting at the left side of the sack ending up where you started at the right. 

Tie the cords in a knot and trim the ends.


Red and white checkered fabric sack with white faux fur trim, label reading "Santa's Toy Shoppe," and a white drawstring held by a hand.

Insert the remaining cord through the casings just as you did with the first cord, starting and ending on the left side of the sack. 

To close the sack, pull the cords away from the sack at each end.

Red plaid drawstring sack with white faux fur trim labeled "Santa's Toy Sack" featuring holly and candy cane embroidery, held by a hand on a wooden surface.

Whether you decide to dress up as the man in red or not, this Santa's Toy Sack will bring a holly-jolly look to your gifts on Christmas morning.

Red and white plaid Santa sack with white fur trim, embroidered with "Santa's Toy Shoppe, Elf Crafted, Santa Approved," surrounded by garland and gift boxes.