I used some pumpkin fabric that I had on hand, and made the bag's size kind of adjusted to the piece of fabric and also the size of my Goose. (I didn't want it to be too long, specifically.)
To began, I cut the two front/back pieces 13" tall by 11" wide, two side pieces 13" tall by 5" wide, and one bottom piece 11" by 5". I kind of tried to pay attention to how the pattern on the fabric went, but the pumpkins go every which way as it is, so I didn't worry too much.
Pin one side piece to one front (or back) piece right sides together and sew using a straight stitch. Press the seam open. Repeat with the other pieces, making sure you're alternating - front (or back) then side then back (or front) then side. At this point, I folded the top down about an inch and pressed it then stitched it down. Because I was too lazy to fill a bobbin with orange thread (I had cream thread instead), I flipped it over and topstitched it so that I had one orange line and one white line. But that's just me. Stitch the final side to the front/back so you have a big tube.
I have to admit that the bottom didn't go on as neatly as one might hope, but it's homemade, and it looks just fine. I started by stitching one long side of the bottom piece to one front/back, pressed the seam open, and then stitched the other long side to the front/back and pressed open. Then I stitched the short sides together.
When you're sewing something like this, it's tough to get things to lay flat to press the seam open. What I do instead is fold the extra fabric down over the seam (pretty much folding in half at the seam, right sides of the outside are together) and press the seam inside out, so to speak. And it's kind of funny, because then I went back and pressed the seams the opposite way from the outside so the seams were more creased and it holds its rectangular "bag" shape better. :>)
At this point, I checked the amount of fabric I had left and didn't think it was quite enough to make the handles as long as I wanted. It was close, and probably would've been fine - but I knew I had some orange ribbon that I could use. I cut two pieces about 14" long, and put Fray Check on the ends to keep them from unraveling. I pinned the outside of the ribbon (I think it's 1.5" wide?) about 1.5" from the seams on the front and back pieces. I triple-stitched them down, so they won't have any chance of coming loose when the bag is bursting with candy.
Overall, I'd guess this project took about 2 hours with the normal toddler interruptions. I know it wasn't cheaper than the 50 cent jack-o-lantern bucket we saw at a garage sale this summer, but I think it's prettier and I think it will last longer, too.
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