Monday, July 30, 2012

Fabric Covered Storage Boxes!



I need to give credit where credit is due.  This is NOT my idea.  I saw this on Sew Many Ways blog.  I love her blog.  She has great ideas.  So, definitely go check it out when you get done here. 

I am going to give you a step-by-step tutorial of how I made them.    I hope you enjoy it.

Supplies needed:


Box
Fabric
Spray Adhesive
Ruler
Scissors
Pen
3 in 1 Glue by Beacon
Pipe straps, screws and nuts (hardware store)
Crop a Dile (or something to make holes in the box)
A little time

Start with the box.  If you purchased the box assemble the bottom part but cut the tops off so you are left with the sides and the bottom.  Shown in the picture above.

Measure your fabric and cut out the pieces you need.  You need two extra inches around, two extra inches on the top and 4 extra inches on the bottom.  If your box is really wide you may need more than 4 inches on the bottom.  Make sure it will meet and overlap a little on the bottom.  Or you could cut another piece of fabric to cover the open space if needed.  I used my ruler and pen and drew lines onto the fabric to cut.

Then comes the fun part.  You may want to move outsides for this part because the spray adhesive is sometimes gets out of control.  I forgot to move my scissors out of the line of fire and they were a little sticky.  Yuck!


Leave about an inch or so hanging over the side edge when you start, then spray one side and lay the fabric down nice and flat.  You can lift it and place it back down if you get some puckers or folds.  Continue the next three sides.


Then you can move back inside for the rest.

I started out trying to tuck the edge under and glue it down, but gave that up because it was thick and I have no patience.  So I ended up just cutting the fabric even and gluing down the side edge.  This became the back of my box so it wouldn't show.


Next comes the bottom of the box.  First you need to cut away any extra fabric be sure to angle the cut  slightly into corner so it doesn't get bulky on the edge.  Can you see the angle in the picture below?



Lay opposite ends down, then cut away the extra fabric on the other two sides taking care to angle your cut again. The picture is horrible but you can see the angle of the cut.


 After you have the bottom of the box done, you can focus on the top part.


My edges were not even...not sure how that happened.  LOL.  Anyway, it is an easy fix.  Just trim them even all the way around.  You will need to cut into the corners so the fabric will lay flat.  Be sure to angle toward the corner again like you did on the bottom to avoid bulky fabric in the corners.  I noticed on Sew Many Ways that her fabric is trimmed or finished right at the top of the box instead of rounding the top and turning it into the inside.  You can do whatever you like best.  Adhere the edges down.

 
Be sure you are working on the front edge of the box.  Hold the pipe strap up to the box and mark where you want to punch the holes.  I used the Big Bite Crop a dile for this job.  It worked great.  It will punch right through the cardboard and the fabric.







Place the screws through the holes of the pipe strap and add the nut on the back.







I loved the idea of the metal rim tag held on with a metal ring for the label so that is what I used too.

There you have it.  Such a great way to get the color and size of boxes you want for your space.  Here are some of the others I made for my room.








If you would like the entire tour of my craft room, you can find it and tons of other fun ideas on the Moxxie Blog.  Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,
Michelle

2 comments:

  1. They really add a *pop* of color to your room, Michelle, as well as being practical. I can see this being done with shoe boxes, lid included, to be used for photo storage, or cards! Thanks for sharing~

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  2. Really awesome room, Michelle. Thanks for posting your messes in the beginning so we all can identify and know that we can get organized! I'm MOTIVATED!

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