How to Make Cornhole Bags
Cornhole is a staple game of summer, at least here in the Midwest. As the weather gets warmer, it’s time to pull out the boards and bags and let the games begin! Over a season, cornhole bags see a lot of wear and tear. If your bags look past their prime or you’re building a new cornhole set, sewing new bags is an easy do-it-yourself project.
If you’re not familiar with the game, cornhole (sometimes known as corn toss, bags, or bean toss) is a lawn game where players throw small bags at a board with a hole in it. There are various versions of score keeping, but generally players earn points by sinking bags in the hole or landing bags on the board.
A set of cornhole bags have a total of 8 bags per set, 4 each of 2 different colors (we used red and royal blue). Bags are approximately 6” x 6” squares, so with only 1 yard of fabric you can make 20 bags.
To make a set of strong and sturdy cornhole bags, we used a cotton duck material. It is a soft, easy to sew material and is strong enough to stand up to the abuse of being tossed around. The bags are sewn with a double stitch around the inner sides, according to the American Cornhole Organization’s regulations. For the stuffing inside, we used feed corn, which is traditional, but you can also use beans or plastic pellets. To have your bags regulation compliant, each bag should contain approximately 1-3/4 cup of corn to weigh between 15-16 oz.
Visit Sailrite.com for the full blog, video and materials list.
How to Make Cornhole Bags:
- Cut sixteen 7” x 7” squares, 8 from one fabric and 8 from another
- Sew a stitch 1/2 inch in from the raw edge of 3 sides
- Sew a second stitch next to the first, about 1/4 inch from the raw edge
- Turn the bag right side out
- Create a hem on the remaining open side and sew 3/4 of that end shut
- Using a funnel, insert about 1-3/4 cup feed corn into the opening of the bag
- Sew the opening shut
Game on! Browse our full selection of cotton duck and thread colors at Sailrite.com.
Do you and your family and friends play cornhole or other yard games? What’s your favorite summertime game? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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This is one of my family’s favorite games to play under our patio cover or on the front lawn. Now we can make our own bags, Thanks!
Great info on creating cornhole bags. Our cornhole boards in our backyard are close to the pool and we get some wild throws that end up getting wet (in the pool). Now we know how to make our own, thanks.
You’re welcome. It sounds like you have quite a fun yard!
What is the Size of the Hole that the Bags fit through?
The hole in the board has a diameter of 6 inches.
Thank you.
The holes in my set are a complicated circle–you know–where the saw slipped.
Tried 3 different machines, none of them could accommodate the height of the corn hole bag. What type of machine are you using?
Hi Debbie,
We used the Sailrite Ultrafeed LS-1 Sewing Machine. It features a high foot lift and can easily sew through heavy materials. Here’s a link if you’d like to learn more about our machine: http://www.sailrite.com/easearch#!Sailrite-Sewing-Machines/Ultrafeed-Sewing-Machine&ea_a=Color%3AReds
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I am impressed immensly with the way to make cornhole bags. I surely will try this out this weekend.
However, after seeing such an amazing blog on cornhole bags I surfed the web extensively to learn more on how to make cornhole bags wherein I found a website named cornholegametime.com which also taught me the steps to make custom cornhole game boards also. So I suggest you also refer the website as it is really helpful in things related to cornhole.
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I understand you should freeze the corn to prevent weevil. If this is correct, how long do you freeze the corn
Hi Shirley,
Based on what I’ve read, you want to make sure you use corn that’s been inspected for weevils or you can freeze the corn before putting it in your bag. I would think you just need to freeze it for a day or two so any potential weevil eggs die in the freezer. If that’s a major concern you can also always use plastic pellets for the filling instead of corn.
Cam you use dry beans instead of corn
I’m not sure. Corn is the go-to and plastic pellets are the preferred alternative. I’ve not heard from anyone using beans so I can’t comment on the potential advantages or disadvantages.
I was reading on another website about beanbags and it suggested using 1 lb. of dried pinto beans per bag (in place of the corn).
Can you cut a piece of fabric 13″ X 7″ and fold it over and sew on 2 sides before turning it inside out? Then all you would have left is folding the end over and stitching after filling it. That would eliminate having to sew an extra seam.
Yes, Carole, you could absolutely do that as well!
If u really want to step ur game up u can make “pro bags”. They have one side as the duck cloth and the other side is a micro suede. This allows you to have one side “stick” (suede) and the other to “slide” (duck). And popcorn works very well. Beans not so much but synthetic pallets are a big thing now as well to make all weather bags. FYI I play in a few leagues so I have played a lot of cornhole and used many different types of bags.
Where do you get that micro suede material? I was just at the National Championship Cornhole Tourney yesterday, as I live in Knoxville, and saw these pro bags for the first time. I make custom boards and bags, and I really want to offer this as an option. Any ideas?
Try fabric.com and search for micosuede (one word).
how long and weighed is the cornholegame I know the hole has to be 6 inchesso whats the other
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/structures/how-to-build-a-regulation-cornhole-set
What do you mean when you say “pellets”? I’ve been told that corn and beans would swell when they get wet, so I’m looking for an alternative. Thanks!
You can buy plastic pellets designed to use in bean bag applications. They’re like plastic beans.
Is there a bag you need to put the corn in before placing them in the toss bag? Just in case is busts?
Or is one enough?
Hi Lacy,
Really that’s up to personal preference. You absolutely could create an inner bag for the corn, but it’s not required.
Should i use a certain type of thread?
Hello Shawna, if you are using a home sewing machine I would recommend a V-69 Polyester, if you are using an industrial sewing machine I would recommend using a V-92 Polyester. Both will be perfect!
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We have had some problems with the corn disintegration after a period…it looks almost smashed and pasty. Also had a problem with gnats/bugs in the opened bag of unused corn. I tried freezing the corn and then laying it out to dry completely before use. Is there something I should be doing to the corn first? We buy 50pound bags at a farm store.
There isn’t anything you can do to prevent this from happening to my knowledge. As the bags are thrown the corn breaks down. The alternative is to use beans or plastic pellets but then you won’t get the dusting that you see from corn which allows the bags to slide better on the board. Your best bet is to open a seam to replace the corn when they start to break down. Or create brand new bags.
I’ve followed your instructions but my bags slide off the frame. What do you suggest?
They are designed to slide, but there are many factors that can contribute to more or less slide including the material in the bag and the finish on the frame.
This may have been addressed (perhaps I missed it?), but make sure you have the proper sewing machine needle for sewing on duck cloth. Also, you may need to play around with the thread tension settings, as the fabric is thick, especiallywhen seeing through 2 layers😊. I wasn’t sure what stitch length to use. The stitch length in video appears to be long (3+?), but I used 2.6. Definitely try practice stitching through 2 layers of the duck cloth scraps before you start on the actual project.
I trimmed the 2 far corners opposite the unstitched side before turning the bags right side out so that I could reduce the bulk from the corners.