DIY Summer Beach Bag Charms
The weather is getting warmer, and summer is definitely on the horizon! I’ve been so inspired to start some summer content so I thought I would kick it off with these adorable felt charms that I made to decorate my beach bag for the summer!
I feel like felt ornaments had a big moment this past holiday season. I kept seeing people making really cute embellished and embroidered ornaments all over Pinterest & TikTok. Well as it inevitably goes, I ended up buying a bunch of supplies to make those but never actually got around to it. So today I’m bringing that project into the summer season! I was inspired to make summer versions of these felt ornaments, but then got the idea of attaching a cord (kind of like a pair of fuzzy dice) to hang these cute plush objects as decorative charms to dress up a simple tote bag or beach bag. I saw these tote bag charms on Anthropologie recently, so I think that bag charms are going to have a moment this season.
Be warned, this project does involve some embroidering, but they are very simple stitches that are totally beginner friendly if you are new to embroidery. It also makes for a great couch craft, so throw on your current favorite TV show — might I highly recommend “Maxton Hall” on Prime Video?! Have you seen it? I’m obsessed — and follow along below on how I made these felt summer beach bag charms!
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MAKE SUMMER BEACH BAG CHARMS WITH FELT!
Supplies:
Felt in assorted colors — you can also buy colored felt from your local craft store like Michaels or Joanns or I like this Etsy shop if you are looking for specific colors
Scissors
Pen & pencil
Leather lace or suede cord - I used this type
Hot glue & glue gun
Polyester fill (or you could even use some cotton balls since these charms are fairly small)
Embroidery floss — you will need assorted colors for embroidering details and corresponding colors to your felt to close up the sides
White cardstock paper
ETI’s Summer Beach Bag Charms Template PDF (download below!)
STEP 1: Begin by downloading ETI’s Summer Beach Bag Charms Template PDF above and print onto thick white cardstock. Cut out the perimeter of the shapes you would like to use. Each charm will have two ends so you can do two of the same shape or a set, like the shell & starfish that I’m using above.
Trace the perimeter of the shapes onto your base felt color using a pen or marker. You will need two of each shape (a front and a back).
STEP 2: Carefully cut out your shapes from your felt. I recommend cutting on the inside of your pen lines so that no pen ink is visible on the edges in your finished product.
STEP 3: Next, using a pencil you are going to sketch out any of the lines or embellishments you would like to embroider onto the surface of your felt. Keep in mind that the two pieces of felt will probably only match up correctly one way so make sure that you are embroidering on the front of one piece and the back of the second piece.
STEP 4: Embroidering! Before you attach your two sides of felt together, you will want to embroider any details.
For the shell I added some ridge lines using the stem stitch. Here is a great video showing you how to do this easy stitch if you are new to embroidering. Just make sure you are always starting and ending your line of embroidery floss from the back side of your felt (so that all your knots will be on the inside of your charm). Also, I would recommend staying away from the very edge of your felt since that is where you are going to attach your two pieces of felt together.
For the starfish, I added some details with the french knot stitch. Here is a video showing how to do a french knot stitch.
At this point, you could also add more details with other colors of felt. Just cut out whatever shapes you want in other colors and stitch the pieces together with a basic running stitch around the perimeter (this is what I did for the Aperol Spritz wine glass, ice cream cone, and pool float). And you can totally get creative with decorating here! Add beads, rhinestones, glitter, or you could even use puffy paint to paint on the details if you don’t want to embroider.
I ended up decorating both the front and back panels of my felt, but you could just do one side and leave the other blank if you want.
STEP 5: Now you are going to close up the two sides of your felt charm using the blanket stitch. It’s important to leave a chunk of the edge open at the very top of your charm for the next step, so start your blanket stitch off to the side.
It is kind of hard to explain embroidery stitches in words, so here is a great video showing you how to do a blanket stitch. Start by lining up your two pieces of felt with the embroidered sides facing out. Knot the end of your embroidery floss and pull it through the back piece of felt (about 1/8” from the edge), from the inside to the outside. Bring the needle around to the front and push the needle through both pieces of felt at the same spot. Before pulling the loop tight, pull your needle back toward you inside the loop from right to left. Pull tight to form your first loop.
Now bring your needle back to the front about 1/8” to the right of your first stitch and push it through both pieces of felt. Pull the floss to tighten the loop, but again, before the loop is fully closed, put your needle through the loop towards you. Repeat this process over and over to attach the two sides of felt together. Try to keep the distance between stitches as consistent as possible. And try to keep your two pieces of felt lined up as much as possible as you go.
Continue around the perimeter of your charm, but stop when you have a few inches remaining open.
STEP 6: Before completely closing up your felt charm, you will want to add your leather cord. Cut a piece of leather lace or suede cord (or whatever you want to use for the charm cord) to about 16” long. Hot glue one end of the cord to the inside of your felt charm (glue it to one side of the felt only).
STEP 7: Once your hot glue has dried, fill your felt charm with polyester fill or stuffing. Be sure to get the stuffing all the way into any small spaces. You can use the end of a pencil to help push the stuffing into your shape.
STEP 8: And now all that is left to do is to sew it closed! Continue with the blanket stitch until your felt charm is completely sewn up. It is very satisfying to sew up a plush object, I felt like that scene in Toy Story 2 when Woody is having his arm reattached lol. Finish off the stitch with a knot and you can kind of hide the knot under some of your embroidery floss so it isn’t too visible in the end.
STEP 9: You are going to repeat the process now with your second object. Glue the other end of your leather cord to the inside of your second felt charm. Then add the stuffing and sew it up.
And your felt beach bag charms are complete! To attach the charms to your bag, you are going to tie a sort of “cow hitch” knot. You will fold your cord in half, creating a loop at the end. Now encircle the double cord around the strap of your bag and bring the two felt charms through the top loop. Pull the cord tight and the two felt charms will now be hanging along your bag. So cute!!
I got a bit carried away after making the shell and starfish and I had to come up with other iconic summer duos — so I ended up making an Aperol spritz + an orange slice and an ice cream cone + pool float. I’m honestly not sure which one is my favorite, I kept finishing them and bringing them to show my husband screaming this is my favorite now!! lol I’m gonna need to buy more beach bags!
I’m such a big fan of projects using felt because it is a very accessible and inexpensive craft supply, and you can make some really cute and useful items! I’ve made a lot of felt projects over the years here on Entertain the Idea, so if you have purchased a ton of felt and are looking for other ways to use it, check out some of these other felt-related projects!
I hope you all are getting into the summer spirit, I know that this project definitely got me excited for many fun upcoming trips to the beach and park this summer. And it is so customizable, you can totally make your own templates of all kinds of other summer objects. What beach bag charms would you make for summer?!
Xo Rachael
