Cornhole Tutorial

 

Cornhole. Bean bag toss. Throw the bag into the hole. Whatever you want to call it...it's fun! And if you buy your own set, a little expensive. That's why it pays to DIY!

Building a cornhole set really isn't that difficult. Beginners can make one, just don't let the longish supply list get you down.

Supplies:
2 - 24"x48" (that's 2 feet x 4 feet) 1/2" inch thick board
4 - 4 foot long 2x4s (box frame)
4 - 21" long 2x4s (box frame)
4 - 11" long 2x4s (legs)
10 - 2" wood screws
4 - 3" wood screws
4 - 3/8" x 4" carriage bolts
4 - 3/8" washers and wing nuts

Paint and painters tape
Tracing paper

8 7"x7" duck cloth squares in 1 color
8 7"x7" duck cloth squares in another color
16 cups Corn, beans, or rice

First you build the box. I didn't get any pictures of the process, but it's really simple. You use two of the long and two of the short 2x4 pieces to form a rectangle. Then screw the box together using the 4 3" wood screws. Then screw the 1/2" thick board on top making a box using the 8 2" woods screws. It should look like this, without the hole, when you're done.

Draw a 6 inch circle in the middle (horizontally) of your board exactly 9 inches from the top. We used a kitchen bowl, which just happened to be the perfect size, to make a circle. Drill a hole in the middle of your circle. Then you can put your jig saw in through the hole you just drilled and cut out the circle. It won't be perfect, so be ready to sand any rough edges off.

Next drill a 1/2 inch hole on each side of your box frame. They should be about 2 inches from the top.

Now get the 11 inch 2x4s. These are going to be the legs so your board sits at an angle.Use your jig saw again and round off the top. Use the photo below for reference. It doesn't have to be perfectly rounded. You just want the legs to move in and out of place easily without hitting the box frame.

Drill a hole in each leg 1 1/2 inches from the top of the rounded edge.

Line up the hole in your box frame and the hole in your leg piece. Attach with carriage bolt, washer, and wing nut.

Now your set is built and completely functional, but still a little boring. You're probably going to be hauling these bad boys to a football game or cookout or somewhere, so.... Let's show a little team spirit and let's paint them up in your favorite team colors.

For us, we are a house divided when it comes to team loyalty except our Alma Mater. So Campbell Camels it was.

We first painted everything black. Then we taped off a triangle with the point ending in the hole and painted that area orange. And then we painted it orange again, and again before we finally got it to cover up all that black. In hindsight, maybe we should have painted orange first and black second.

Next we wanted to have the CU and fighting camel on the board. It would have been easiest to use a decal or something to stick on, but I couldn't find one big enough. So on to plan B; tracing paper.

We some tracing paper and printed out the logo we wanted to use. I taped the tracing paper, color side down, and the printed logo in place so it wouldn't slip. Then I traced everything.

Once I took off the papers, an outline was left and I could paint in the lines.

After all the painting was done, we needed to seal it. Three coats of poly-acrylic sealed it and gave a nice slick surface for the bags to slide on. I used a sponge brush to keep the finish smooth. Sometimes a regular brush will leave bristle streaks.

Oh, bags. Can't forget those. You need eight bags; four in one color and four in another. I needed black and orange obviously, but I couldn't find orange duck cloth. So I resorted to white and a packet of dye. You know there's a reason why the package of dye says to stir your fabric. It's so the color spreads evenly and I didn't do that this time. Oops.

Place two pieces of fabric together (it's duck cloth so I don't think you have to worry about right side/wrong side, but just in case you aren't using duck cloth - right side together). Sew around leaving a small hole. Trim your corners.

Inverse bag through the hole. Fill with 2 cups corn. Regulation bags are 13 ounces and two cups of corn is perfect. If you are going to use beans or rice you can check the weight if you want.

Then tuck in the raw edges and sew remembering to back stitch at the beginning and end to reinforce your seam.

Now all you need is a way to keep score. Hubs drill two sets of 20 holes in the back side of the box frame. He used a 7/32 sized drill bit. I added vinyl numbers to help keep track. You put a golf tee in the hole to mark your score. The first to 21 wins.

Did you notice I said Hubs drilled 20 holes and in the picture I have the number 21. Yeah, we didn't communicate very well on that one. Oh well, we know that whoever gets the next point after their golf tee is in the final hole wins. And of course, Hubs keeps beating me. I mean, look at that concentration!

Linking Up To: Christy's Cuties, Crafty Cousins, Family Ever After, Frugally Sustainable, JAQS Studio, Just Us Four, Lines Across, Momnivore's Dilemma, Not Just a Housewife, One Artsy Mama, One Little Momma, Our Delightful Home, Sew Much Ado, Serendipity and Spice, So You Think You're Crafty, Sugarbee Crafts, Tatertots and Jello, Tip Junkie, Tip Junkie