Workspace Wednesday - Fabric Covered Box Tutorial

I'm always on the lookout for pretty storage containers to help keep my work space organized. I have a few sets of retired Sizzix Alphabet Dies from Stampin' Up! that I have always just kept in the corrugated cardboard boxes they came in...while on the lookout for a prettier storage solution. I never found any that were the right size, and I've had some Stampin' Up! fabric sitting her unused...so I decided to make my own pretty storage boxes by covering them in fabric.

Here's the first one I made. I had to use non SU! fabric, because the SU! fabric was not big enough to wrap all the way around the box. It turned out pretty good, but I made a few mistakes along the way. I'm sure you'll agree that it looks WAY better than it did!  This one holds 16 Bigz Dies.

After the trial and errors of my first fabric covered box I decided to give it another shot and take some photos along the way in case you would like to give it a try. The second box I covered using Stampin' Up! Springtime Vintage Fabric. The finished box holds 8 Bigz Dies.

These are the supplies you'll need:

First, cut the flaps off the top of your box with a heavy pair of scissors...I used my Craft & Rubber Scissors, but you could also use a box cutter. Just be sure to cut a nice smooth, straight edge for the top of your box. At this time I also measured, and then used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes into the front of the box. This is where you will set the large eyelets after the box is covered with fabric.

Next, cut down your ironed piece of fabric with fabric shears. You will want it long enough so that it wraps around the entire box with about a 1/2" overlap at seam and is wide enough to fold inside and under the box. I used Sizzix Multi-Purpose Adhesive Sheets to adhere my fabric, so I also cut those with my paper trimmer so that they fit the sides of the box.

Next, you will want to adhere the strips of adhesive to the sides of the box. Use your bone folder to burnish it in place so that it adheres well to the cardboard. Note: When making my first box I applied the adhesive strips directly to the fabric and it was a  LOT harder!

After you get the adhesive burnished to all surfaces of the box that will be covered with fabric, peal off one section at a time (starting with the outside of box) and start wrapping the fabric around the box. I had the best luck starting this process by laying the box on it's side right on top of the fabric. If you mess up, don't worry, you can always gently pull the fabric off and start again. Carefully smooth out any bubbles or creases in the fabric. Pull off adhesive covering as you go until the whole outside of the box is covered.

At the back of the box there will be about 1/2" where the fabric overlaps. I used a small bead of Tombo Multi-Adhesive along this seam. Next, fold down the fabric inside of the box. Note: With this step, I had a hard time not leaving any creases in the fabric around the corners, but I planned to line my box with card stock to finish it, so I wasn't too concerned.

The bottom was easy...just like wrapping a present. I used my bone folder to help with adhering the fabric & keeping it smooth all around the box.

Next, I used my piercing tool to poke through the fabric where the holes in the box were so that I could easily insert the large eyelets. After I got them in place, I set them with my Crop-a-Dile. Then I added some ribbon that would become handles. After I got the ribbon handles in place, I used my hot glue gun to secure them to the inside front of the box as shown below.

To prevent my fabric from fraying and possibly coming away from side of box after using it for a while I thought it would be best to line the inside...plus it just looks nicer and finishes it off. To do this I just used some card stock which I measured and cut to fit. The bottom was a little tricky because I scored it about 1/2" on each side to form the base. That was adhered to the bottom using Tombo Multi-Adhesive. Then I fit it the front & back pieces which I also scored 1" on each end and then the 2 side pieces which were not scored at all. I used a generous amount of the Tombo and it worked out real well.

Don't forget to cover your bottom!

Here's how the boxes fit inside my cabinet...looks a lot nicer than the plain old cardboard boxes! Since they are inside a cabinet, I don't need to worry about a lid to keep out dust. I like how they are easy to grab out & put away when I'm done. With the alphabet dies in particular I find it easier to be able to take out the whole box when I'm working...because you are almost always going to need several of the dies to create the words you need.

Since we are on the subject of Sizzix Die storage, I figured I may as well show you how I store the rest of my dies. They fit perfectly in the 4 drawer Jetmax Craft storage cubes. I can fit 18 Bigz dies per drawer.

Hope this post inspires you to put some of the fabric you may have sitting around to good use. I don't sew, so for me the only way I use fabric is in some sort of crafty type project where I can use glue!