DIY Tutorial: Fabric Storage Box/Bucket

Want some, but don't have the time to make your own?  

Check it out at my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoRoBoatDesigns

Fabric Boxes are convenient and easy to make.  When they are made using materials like an upcycled wild bird feed bag, they become a good way to help keep trash out of landfills and also the plastic-nature of the bag makes it easy to wipe clean and somewhat resistant to water.  

Here's how to make these:

You will need the following supplies:

- large sheet of paper to draw a pattern on (I taped three sheets together)

- apx 1/2 yard of outer shell (I used a chicken feed bag, but you could use virtually anything), batting (I used scraps from previous quilting projects, you could also use any kind of stabalizer), and a liner (I used cotton with a fox print, but the sky is the limit)

 You want to start by drawing out your base at the desired size for the finished bucket/bin.  This could be any size.  It doesn't have to be square.  I chose 7"x7" for this bucket/bin.

 Next, you want to measure out the height of the bucket - and then ad 1/4" for seam allowance - I wanted a 7" square, so I measured and drew a line 7 1/4" from the edge of each side of the base.

 Next, I folded the paper in order to determine where the middle of each side was (I guess I could have measured, but that would have been too easy).  I measured out from the middle and added 1/4" on each side for seam allowance - in this case 7.5".

 After repeating this on each side, my pattern was complete - I cut it out.

 I used the pattern to cut my outer shell, a layer of batting and the lining.

 Next, I placed the lining and batting together - lining face up.  Then, I pinned the edges together carefully.

 It looked like this when I was done:

 I sewed each edge, making certain to backstitch at the start and end of each seam.

 It looked like this when I was done:

 Next, I pinned the outer shell together.

 I sewed each edge again making certain to backstitch.  It looked like this when I was done:

 I cut two 2" x 5" rectangles from the outer shell fabric.  These are going to be for my handles.

 I folded each of these in half:

 The I opened them up and folded each edge into the middle crease:

 It looked like this:

 I sewed along the edge - as close to the edge as I could get while still catching all of the fabric.

 Next I measured and marked where I wanted each edge of the bag handles to be - in this case 2.5" from each edge.

 I marked this - just to make my job very easy.

 I centered each edge of the handle over the marks and pinned them in place.

 I sewed these multiple times back and forth, back and forth.  I sewed them less than 1/4" from the edge, so that my seam would be hidden later.  I did this for each handle.

 I made certain that my lining fit into the shell.

 Then I put the shell inside of the liner - right sides together.

 I pinned everything - I pressed the seams open and pinned them too.

 Then I sewed 1/4" from the edge - making certain to leave apx. 5" open on one side for turning the bin/bucket later.

 Here's my opening:

 I turned the bin/bucket right side out.

 It looked like this:

 I folded over the unfinished edge and pinned it in place.

 Final step: I topstitched the entire thing - about 1/8" from the edge.

 Here is the finished product:

 And another shot: