Berenstain Bears and the Fabric Box

Ever since reading the book "Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room" when I was little, I have loved organization. So when I found the book "Sew and Stow" by Betty Oppenheimer I was excited to be able to mix sewing and organizing. Some of the projects include a lumberjack tote for firewood, knitting needle tote, laundry bag, shoe hideaway, and a lunch bag. The first one I wanted to try though, was the fabric box. Most of the projects include instructions and dimensions, but for the fabric box the author just gives suggestions on how to complete it. At first I was disappointed, but once I started on the box it ended up working out well because I was able to customize the box for a specific purpose. I made mine big enough to hold some of the greeting cards that I've made.

To put this box together, the front, bottom, back, and top are all one long piece. Then I just had to sew the two sides on (wrong side out, so the seams are on the inside). To give the box some structure, there is a layer of medium weight stabilizer in between the two pieces of fabric. All of the edges on the box, except on the lid, have raw seams. So I just did a zig zag stitch close to the edge to give them a more finished look. The final step was sewing a button on the front and a piece of ribbon on the under side of the lid for a closure.

While I like sewing, I'm not a fan of the cutting and the pinning. My favorite part is really picking out the fabric. I used three different patterns on this box. One for the outside, one for the inside, and another for the lid. Then of course I made sure that even the button and ribbon for the closure matched. Now that I've made one box, I'm planning on making a couple more. One for my sewing supplies and maybe a couple to sell or for my friends. The best part is that each one will be unique and I get to pick out more pretty fabric!