Sewing Storage Box

 I made this--and wrote the blog post--a while ago! But I've been so busy with school, I'm only just getting around to posting it now.

One of the first things I noticed after getting my sewing machine was how much clutter it added to my life. I’m no stranger to clutter, but that’s exactly why accumulating more is a problem. I decided that since the sewing machine had caused this problem, the sewing machine could fix it.

I want to eventually end up with four things: A large fabric basket for things like packages of batting that don’t have anywhere else to go, a smaller basket to act as a mini trash can so that I can throw scraps of fabric and snippets of thread into it as I go along, a hanging organizer to put on the wall over my sewing desk with spaces for all of my most commonly-used tools, and hanging display for jewelry I’ve made so that I don’t have to sort through a big pile of it when I want to find a specific piece.

I started with the large basket. I searched through tons of tutorials for fabric boxes until I found one that I absolutely loved. It’s by Urban Nest and it can be found here.

I picked out some pretty, sturdy green material from the fabric store that is a temptingly close walk from my apartment, and paired it with some smaller pieces in pinks and purples. I couldn’t find any lightweight cardboard big enough to make the pieces I needed, so I had to use a heavier box. That meant that I couldn’t stitch through the cardboard to secure the top, so I finished it with bias tape instead. The shape of the basket with the cardboard inside meant that stitching a straight line was kind of difficult, so the stitching is very uneven around the top there. I still need to get better at stitching straight lines on things other than just flat pieces of fabric. It obviously looks “beginner-ish” next to the polished look of the original, but I don’t mind too much—I am a beginner, after all! I’m hoping that with everything I learned from this one, I’ll do a much better job on the smaller one. I guess we’ll find out when I make it!

In any case, it’s a fun project with a nice, easy tutorial and the finished product is both attractive and useful. I definitely recommend giving it a shot for anyone looking for extra storage or an enjoyable way to spend some time. J