Purim craft: DIY felt bag with a happy clown

I remember the excitement in the morning of Purim Day at school. I would wear the costume that my mom had made for me (she was very loyal to our costume requests, even the craziest ones, like the year I wanted to be a roasted chicken), and pack the “mishloach manot” or Purim basket – a parcel of sweets given to friends on Purim.

At school I would see all the kids in their costumes, running around to the sound of Purim songs. We spent a couple of hours at school and then we were free to start our Purim vacation.

With these happy memories in mind, I prepared a tutorial for a fun Purim craft:

make a DIY felt bag with a cartoon clown!

Clowns are a major symbol of Purim, and a cute DIY felt bag is great for packing the mishloach manot. Even if you don’t celebrate Purim, you can still enjoy the craft and use your handmade felt bag for birthday gifts and party favors. Clowns are always a great theme for celebrations!

For this Purim craft you’ll need:

Colorful felt sheets
Scissors
Fabric glue
Needle and thread
Wide ribbon
Fabric to make a bow knot
This printable templates: page 1, page 2, page 3

Step 1

Print the template and cut out all the parts.

Step 2:

Trace the parts onto the felt sheets and cut them out. Some parts need multiple copies: the eye (X2), the eye-makeup (X2), the eye-strip (X2), the hand (X2), the eyebrow (X2), the hair shade (X5), the ‘bag’s front and back’ (X2) and ‘the bag’s sides and bottom’ (X3).

Step 3:

Sew the ‘bag’s sides and bottom’ parts to the bag’s front:

Step 4:

Sew the edges of the sides and bottom together:

Step 5:

Sew the bag’s back:

Step 6:

Sew or glue handles of wide ribbon:

Step 7:

Time to assemble the clown! First, glue the face to the hair.

Step 8:

Glue the hair shades, the mouth’s contour, the nose, the eye-makeup and the eyebrows.

Step 9:

Glue the other part of the mouth and the eye-strips.

Step 10:

Glue the eyes.

Step 11:

Glue the clown to the front of the bag. Keep some space at the bottom for the bowknot and the gloves.

Step 12:

Add the gloves. They exceed beyond the bag’s margins.

Step 13:
Make a bowknot: first, cut a rectangular piece of fabric. This rectangular should be about twice the size of your final bowknot.

Glue the edges of the rectangular to make nice hems:

Fold the rectangular and glue its edges.

Start folding the bowknot: first, fold the fabric in half (1). Then, make three fold in the top flap, like a fan (2-4). Do the same to the other part of the ribbon (5). Tie the ribbon in the middle with a strip of cloth or ribbon (6).

Step 14:

Glue or sew the bowknot under the clown’s chin.

And our DIY felt bag is complete!

I added one of my printable gift tags for Purim which are available on my Etsy shop. You can find this tag here.

Ready to dive deeper into the Purim festivities? I’m excited to present my Purim coloring book: The Purim Story to Read and Color. This printable coloring book has the complete Purim story written in short, simple segments, alongside original illustrations to color. Kids will love coloring the pictures while reading the Purim story and meeting its iconic characters.

It’s an ideal way to introduce the traditions of the Jewish holiday to kids, while still keeping the fun and playful atmosphere of Purim.

Click here to see this printable book on Etsy.

Interested in coloring pages but also in need of Purim cards? My set of printable Purim cards to color will get you covered. It’s a set of three Purim cards to color, cut and fold, plus a printable envelope template. Gather your kiddos for a fun craft session and let them take care of the Purim cards supply! Click here to see this lovely set in my Etsy shop.