Fabric Bins

 Theirs - $129                                                                                             Mine - $20

 Fabric or canvas bins are a great way to hide clutter and organize smaller items on a shelf. Unfortunately, they are usually significantly outside of my price range for organizational tools. I just can't bring myself to pay $10+ for a glorified cardboard box... so I made my own!



A couple of years ago I made a set of three smaller bins to organize an open shelf in the bathroom. Between the humidity and normal wear, I only have one left.

Not long ago, I decided I needed a better solution for my nightstand. I'd been using a small table, but it didn't offer much storage. I found a set of wire shelves and set out to make a set of fabric bins to use as drawers.








When I made the set of blue bins, I had just moved and had an ample supply of cardboard boxes to cut up for the sides and base. This time, I only had very lightweight cardboard and wanted to make larger bins. After much searching and deliberating, I finally found 14" packing boxes at Walmart for $0.68 each. Armed with 3 boxes and a black sheet from the thrift store, I set out to make a set of bins.

The top and bottom flaps were perfect for the sides of the bins, and I cut one of the box sides to use for the base. The base is 13"x 13" and the sides are about 7" tall. 

I prefer to taper the the sides so they are a little bit wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. It takes a little bit more care and effort, but I think it makes the bins a little sturdier and they look very nice.

The sides are 13.5" at the top and taper down to 13" at the bottom.

Once all the cardboard had been cut, I used the cardboard pieces as a pattern to cut the fabric, using a 1/2 in seam allowance. 

(Actually, I almost always use a 1/2" seam allowance... I never could understand why pattern companies decided that 5/8" should be standard... 1/2" is easier to measure and easier to estimate during pattern drafting.)

Anyways...I'll get back to my project at hand. :)

You can't tell from the photograph, but I cut two layers of fabric together, one for the outside and one for the lining. I could have made the lining of a different fabric, but decided to keep it simple for this project.

 Before I started sewing the pieces together, I decided to make a contrasting handle. It's just a tube of fabric with the ends flipped under and top-stitched. I attached this piece to the fabric for the front first.

Then, I sewed the sides together to form a box - four for the outside and four for the inside. 






Placing wrong sides together, I top-stitched along the seam, creating separate sections for each cardboard panel.











Then, I sandwiched the cardboard for the base between the outer fabric and the lining. Flipping the sides inside out, I pinned the bottom edge to the base.

Like this... and stitched around the edge.

 Next, I flipped the bin right side out again and slid the cardboard pieces into the "pockets" around the edge.

Finally, I pinned a seam binding around the top edge and top-stitched all the way around. This is definitely the most challenging part of the whole project. You can see in the photo on the right, that I had trouble keeping the stitching line even. The bigger bins were even more cumbersome to hold onto and manipulate while stitching, but I eventually got them all done... I just didn't take any close-ups of the top-stitching on them. :)

Here's my finished nightstand/dresser with fabric bins. 

I had a coupon, so the shelf unit was about $15. The cardboard was $0.68 each for three boxes and the fabric was a $2 sheet at the thrift store. Grand total = $19.04 :)