Make-It Monday: Beach Towel Bean Bag Toss

Well, my computer is finally clean, and I've spent endless hours this weekend restoring software, documents, drivers, etc. Now, I can finally get back to this blog. And I've got a fabulous project for you. A bean bag toss made from a beach towel that hangs in a doorway or narrow hallway.

1. Start with a beach towel, in any print or picture you'd like. Cut out 6-8 5-inch circles spaced around the towels:

Now, I added pockets on the back of my holes to catch the bean bags. In theory, it seemed pretty simple, but ended up taking me HOURS. If I made another, I'd skip this part. If you want to skip it, go on to step 6. But here's how.

2. Cut a large circle (mine is ~15") from netting for each hole in your towel. Baste a gathering stitch 1/2" from the edge. (I used contrasting thread so you can see it):

3. Gather lightly:

4. Now here's the hard part. Pin the gathered netting to the back of the towel around the hole, lining up the raw edges, so the netting forms a pocket on the back. Pin it extra well. (Trust me on the pinning, and this from one who usually doesn't pin her sewing.):

5. Slip the hole over the arm of your sewing machine and stitch in place:

See? Nice netting pocket on the back of the hole:

6. Now finish off the raw edge with binding:

7. (Sorry no pictures for this step) Fold the top and bottom 2 1/2 inches, and sew a 2 inch casing. (I unpicked the casing on the towel and then did my casing to take advantage of the stripe on the top of the towel.) Then insert a short tension shower rod.

To store, roll up the towel with the rods still in. To use, hang in a doorway and start tossing bean bags! I'll show you mine next week. (Love the only useable picture of the finished project? C, in his pajamas.