BLOGGER TEMPLATES - TWITTER BACKGROUNDS »

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The New Cloth Storage Boxes


Ok, so this one has been on my burner for a while, in fact, I've been eying it for about a month now, and I finally put it into drive tonight with my burning need to create something.

Step By Step:

Original Idea came from Flighty Girl. I added handles to mine, and made mine bigger, as it's storage place will be underneath a side-table in my living room, and not actually on a shelf or anything.

I started by choosing the fabric (duh!) and discovered I had just enough of these both to make just two bins. I had also gone out today and purchased some heavy weight fusible interfacing. My original idea with these fabrics was to make a shirt out of them, but I decided to use them for this project instead as the beige print is more for upholstery than anything. So, I have the blue calico, the beige flower print (don't even ask how long I've had it), and the heavy weight interfacing.
My next step was figuring out how big I wanted it to be. I want something that will fit all of those annoying little toys I keep stepping on, AND the wooden train set that keeps getting underfoot. So, it had to be of a decent size. I ended up going with 16x11. Then I applied the interfacing to the wrong side of the outer fabric (the beige heavy weight stuff).
After that I folded my fabrics in half, and cut a 5 inch point on the ends to form the bottom of my box. Notice I left about a half in flat portion, it's not a perfect triangle, this is because of the way I sew it. I'm a continuous sewer, I don't like pulling out the piece, clipping the threads, and re-starting. I prefer to just keep on going, readjusting while I'm at it.
Next of course, I started stitching it together. I started with the outer fabric first so I could see how the box would look before I finish the inside. So I stitched each portion of my box together, first the outside, forming two boxes. I turned the blue portion inside out, and placed it over the beige. Now, this is where I added in my handles. I decided to sew mine together, then turn it, as it was too awkward to turn the top down while sewing, because the interfacing would have made it more difficult without actually ironing it. I hate stopping in the middle of project to do some ironing. Not that it doesn't make it more handy, but once I'm at my machine, I like to stay there until everything is complete. SO, anyways, stitch around the top, leave a hole for opening, and turn!
It turned out wonderfully, and really only took me about 2 hours. The boys thought they were pretty cool, and filled it up as soon as I explained what it was for. H even likes to carry them!

6 thoughtful remarks:

the girl in stiletto said...

Wow. nice bag... very creative :) i wished i was that creative. the big guy looks so adorable with his new bag =D

Kelly said...

Looks awesome! The handles are great and I love the fabric.

My expressions LIVE said...

How do you manage to fit sewing into your busy schedule? I wish I had just one of your many talents. Have a great weekend!

Kitten said...

Man, I wish I could sew...you make it look so easy!

Jack said...

Lovin' this idea Amber! too back I can't sew worth a damn :(

Your so crafty!

Nietha said...

nice *and* useful!
all those steps with the details were way over my head, makes me appreciate how complicated putting something together is =)