This month’s suggested project for our future sales table, is a fabric box. These are fairly quick to make and only need two fat quarters and some interfacing or wadding, to add body. When completed, you can embellish it with buttons or beads for added accents.
This fabric box has a completed size of 5 1/2 inches square, and is great for storing threads, fabric pieces, bobbins, or indeed anything you like to have to hand when sewing. The addition of the 4 side pockets (which are easy to incorporate), makes it a useful place to store pens, stitch un-pickers, snippers etc.
Requirements
– 2 fat quarters with contrasting fabrics
– 14.5″ x 14.5″ piece of ‘Heat N Bond’ or other fusable firm interfacing (or fusable wadding if prefer)
– 4 x Buttons or Beads (if you wish to embellish)
– Hand Sewing Needle
– Matching machine thread and thread to match buttons, (if using)
– ¼ inch foot
– Pins
– Rotary Cutter and 6″×24″ quilters ruler
– Washable marker pen
– Snippers
– Point Turner
– Iron and Board
Instructions
Iron your 2 fabrics and cut them both out at a size of 15 inches square.
Cut your fusable interfacing or wadding out at 14 1/2 inches square. (In this way when you sew the front to back, you reduce bulk in the seams).
Lay your ‘Heat N Bond’ onto the wrong side of one of the pieces of fabric, and smooth it out with your hands, so that it is lying completely flat on top of the fabric.
Iron this on carefully by pressing down slowly, lifting and pressing until you have pressed it all. If you take your time, you can avoid creases and bubbles. When done, iron around the edges again to ensure they are completely fused.
(Or if using fusible wadding, iron this onto the wrong side of one of the pieces).
When cooled, carefully peel away the backing paper from your interfacing.
Place right sides of fabric together, and pin around the outside edge, leaving a 4 inch gap so that you can turn it the right way out, when sewn.
Sew, using a standard stitch length and a quarter in foot (back-stitching at the start and end).
When sewn, cut off the corners to avoid bulk, being careful not to snip through the stitches you have just made.
Turn to the right side, using the point turner to get crisp points.
Turn the open seams at the 4 inch point, to the inside and pin in place, hand sew the opening closed with either a ladder stitch or a whip stitch.
Now using you hands, smooth the square flat, and as you press the iron down, the front and back pieces will be come fused together. Keep gently pressing rather then moving the iron around. I also gave extra attention to the edges to make sure they were nice and flat.
Edge stitch the square using a quarter inch foot, and as both sides will be seen, I chose a complimentary bobbin thread as well as a top thread.
Fold your square in half.
We are now going to stich diagonally along the corners by 3 1/4 inches, as follows:
From one of the bottom corners, measure up by 3 1/4 inches and put a dot using a fabric marker.
From the same bottom corner, measure across by 3 1/4 inches and put a dot using a fabric marker.
Join both dots up to create a diagonal line and pin to secure, then repeat for the other side.
You will now sew using a standard stitch length (back-stitching at the start and end) of each side along both diagonal lines.
Fold you fabric in half the other way to repeat the process with the other two sides.
When you prepare this side, ensure that both the left and right loose sides are lined up at the top and not overlapping in any way.
When all four corners have been sewn, your fabric box will look like this.
Press the corners in to create a triangle and iron down the sides of all four triangles, to assist in shaping the box when it is stood up.
Fold the four main pointed flaps down and also iron them flat.
Next, put two pins at each of the corners (one on each side) along the top of this triangle, so that the top part of the folded triangles, sit almost under the flaps on either side.
Take the accessory box away from your machine, so that you have a free arm to sew around the small circular shape.
Edge stitch this at 1/4 inch which will help the tops of the triangles and the four pointed flaps to lie flat. (Again I made sure the bobbin thread and top thread colours, matched both sides).
Here is the fabric bag when you have sewn around the top edge.
And in the last photograph, you can see I have added buttons to the points of the flaps using matching thread, just to add a bit more character to the project.
I then put a tacking stitch in, underneath the flap (just through the top fabric), to secure the pointed edge down.
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