Do you ever have days where you just fancy embroidering something but don’t know what?! That was this day! As much as I like pretty things, I love them to be practical too, so when I saw this tub that needed throwing out, I grabbed some scraps for a quick sewing break!
I’ve made you a video and some step-by-step instructions if you want to sew along with me and have a go at following my tutorial to make a fabric-covered desk storage tub for yourself. It doesn’t have to be embroidered. You could just use some pretty fabric or decorate yours with ribbons, buttons or whatever else you have hanging around with your sewing stuff!
I’ve hooped some of our medium tear-away stabiliser. I’ve got a scrap of denim and this is a sewline fabric glue pen which is just a temporary glue. It’ll hold the denim in place perfectly while I embroider it in a moment.
Then I had a little fun with my embroidery machine adding a pattern on it. It’s always so fun and mesmerising watching it sew. What more could you want on your coffee break right?!
I’ve sewn our logo bee with a couple of flowers. If you want to have a go at making something like this too. Any pattern would look good here so get creative – or just make it completely no-sew and attack it with some pretty trims and fabric glue!
Once that was done I tore off the stabiliser, because that’s not needed any more.
I’ve chopped that tub down in half. Now it’s glue time!
I lined up the pattern where I wanted it to go first so that it would end up in the perfect position. I used Gütermann Creativ glue, which is perfect for fabric as well as plastics. I lined up my fabric strip, just working my way around gluing and sticking in sections to keep it all nicely lined up.
When it came to the fabric ends, I trimmed off the excess fabric. To join it, I glued the bottom edge down first then I folded the top edge underneath itself so that the raw edge would be glued under and hidden away.
I added some clips around the top so I don’t accidentally shift the fabric but by this point, it was already sticking well, so I think it would have been fine without them too. I made lots of little snips upwards around the bottom edge of the fabric up to almost level with the base of the tub.
I added a line of glue all around the edge of the bottom of the tub. I folded the fabric tabs down over it. The snips I made let me overlap the fabric on the curves so it lays much flatter. If you’re using thicker denim than this one, you may want to notch out little triangles rather than just snips to take out the extra fabric bulk so it doesn’t overlap at all.
Next, I popped a bit more glue on top of both the fabric I just stuck down as well as right over the middle of the base. I took a piece of thin card and cut it out to the same size as the base, then I stuck it right over the bottom. That’ll keep the edges inside hidden and looking lovely and neat.
Onto the top edge next. I trimmed the top fabric edge so that it was level with the top of my tub. Then I got some bias binding to go all around the top. I added a line of glue along the inside and the outside along the top edge. Working in sections again, I folded the bias binding over the top and stuck it down. Doing a bit at a time helps to keep it lined up straight.
I offset my join at the back with the binding to reduce the bulk folded fabrics but if you want to line yours up, that’d work fine too. Just like I did with the denim, I trimmed off the excess binding. Glued down one side then folded the edge of the top piece and tuck it in and under on itself before gluing that edge in place too.
I added a handful of clips to keep the binding in place then popped it to the side for half an hour to dry and set.
I reckon that’s a much prettier way to store my labels now! Let me know if you have a go at making one too.
