Sashiko Fabric Box

Here's a little something I made as part of a gift, a fabric covered box with sashiko (Japanese embroidery) bellflower accent.

I didn't take step-by-step photos but maybe these few will inspire you to make your own!

 

The purple and flower are representative of September. An excellent month if I do say so myself.

I traced the box that was going to be wrapped onto the wrong side of the grey fabric, outside of box against wrong side of fabric. Before cutting it out I hand embroidered the bellflower and added a 1/2 seam allowance. Then flipped the box so the inside was against the wrong side of the lining purple fabric, again adding 1/2 seam allowance all around.

Using Modge Podge in sections on the outside of the box, I glued the outer fabric to the box. The longest part of my creation here is the snipping of all those corners and the then carefully gluing down the flaps. I made sure to dab all inner corners with fabric glue to keep them from fraying out. Especially on the lid!
On the lining, corners were snipped, flaps pressed down and glued in place.

There are two little flaps that go under the lid which you'll see later. I cut them off because it just made it easier to wrap the box. I covered them separately, leaving the bottom (where they were cut off from the box) seam allowance hanging down and glued together. I then added them back, sandwiching that bottom seam allowance of the flaps between the box layers.

I placed and, in the case of the front ribbon, hand stitched the ribbons and reattached the side flaps before gluing the lining in place.

Binder clips came in really handy through this whole project as you can see from the above pics. They hold those corners and seams good and tight while drying, which is a must with all those layers bulking things up.

Here is a finished front view with the lid up.

 

This is all inspired by, and for, my Japanese grandmother if you couldn't tell. I filled the box with 2 dozen homemade cookies she likes (plastic wrapped!), a maneki neko, a bookmark, and origami. ♥

Feel free to ask any questions about the making of the box!
xx ~Static

Create 365 - Day 64

Catching up on Heroes while finishing the new look for the remainder of 6 chairs. I'm loving the contrast to the table and floor.

Now I just need to get the hooks in place for the tiebacks and, voila, my dining nook / additional workspace is done. Yay!

Now what else can I use my staple gun on? Hmm...

xx ~Static

Create 365 - Day 63

At the time of the pic, two chairs have been recovered in stripey goodness and I drafted a quick pattern (under the scissors) to make matching tiebacks for my lovely but boring black curtains. The leftover strip of fabric, after cutting the pieces for the seats, was just shouting to be used. Why not coordinate?

The only problem is I want vertical stripes and the left over isn't quite long enough in the correct direction for that but... a seam at the center fold might go unnoticed if I do it right at the edges of the stripes. Yes, I think that is the plan for tomorrow. Finish the chairs and then make those tiebacks happen.

xx ~Static

Create 365 - Day 62

This is my first attempt at re-covering a chair seat. So, of course, I had to choose something as difficult as a stripe. But, it's stripey goodness and therefore a must.

 

I loves me a staple gun! [Insert maniacal laughter here]
The "before" is on the on the left and the "after" is on the right.

Le sigh ♥.

If you want to try it yourself, here are the best written instructions I've come across. The section on how to get the right measurements for your fabric was spot on for my seats. Always double check before you cut though. Also, there's a lot of youtube videos on how to do it if you need the visual.

Well, 1 down and 5 to go. Later, lovelies!

xx ~Static