These clever storage baskets are not only cute and handy, they're also a secret recycling project. The sides and bottoms of each basket are stiffened with recycled cardboard! But wait ... they have another hidden talent: they collapse and fold flat to store.

In the nursery, use them for creams, diapers, wash cloths and other diaper changing accessories. You could fill a whole shelf set with bright and beautiful baskets. And yet, why let the nursery have all the fun? We bet you have a lot of cardboard just waiting to be recycled. I see bread baskets and mail baskets and gift baskets ... oh my!

Our sample was made for a baby girl's nursery, using the stunning Patty Young Andalucia collection. For information on where to buy, read Stylish Baby Nursery: Designing with Bold Colors & Patterns. This article also includes suggestions for creating an alternate fabric palette that would work well for a boy's nursery.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome ThreadBanger TB-30)

Fabric and Other Supplies

• Fabric for outer box covering (Fabric A) - ½ yard of 45" wide fabric PER BOX: we used Patty Young's Andalucia in Petal Flora (box 1) and Earth Mod Blooms (box 2)
• Fabric for inside lining (Fabric B) - ¼ yard of 45" wide fabric PER BOX: we used Patty Young's Andalucia in Petal Jester (box 1) and Kiwi Jester (box 2)
• Scraps for binding – you will need two strips per box, each strip is 1¾" x WOF (width of fabric). You can use either a contrasting fabric or a matching fabric: we used Patty Young's Anadalucia in Petal Jester (box 1) and Petal Floral (box 2)
• Chipboard, cardboard, or any heavy weight card stock (for box sides)
• All purpose thread in colors to match fabrics
• Leather machine needle (in addition to your regular needle)
• See-through ruler
• Chalk pencil
• Scissors or rotary cutter and cutting mat
• Iron and ironing board
• Straight pins

We're going to use a leather machine needle in this project - even though our supplies don't call for leather. A leather needle is a super sharp, heavy-duty needle for sewing through difficult materials. Leather is one example; we're using it for this project to sew through the cardboard that makes the sides of the boxes.

Getting Started

1. Using your see-through ruler and chalk pencil, cut a 7¼" x 9½" piece of fabric from Fabric A. Then, cut a strip from Fabric A that measures 6½" x 33". These pieces will form the bottom and outside walls of the box.
2. Cut two strips from Fabric B that each measure 1¾" x WOF (width of fabric). We'll use this fabric for the binding of the box – the fabric around the top and bottom edges of the box.
3. From Fabric B, cut one 7½" x 9½" piece and one 6½" x 33" strip. These will cover bottom cardboard insert and the inside walls.
4. From the cardboard, cut pieces as follows:
   Four pieces that measure 6" x 3¼"
   Two pieces that measure 6" x 8¾"
   One piece that measures, 6½" x 8½"

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Creating the 'walls'

1. Fold the 6½" x 33" piece of Fabric A (outer fabric) in half, with right sides together, and stitch up the 6½" side, using a ½" seam allowance. Turn right side out and press seam open.
2. Using the 6½" x 33" piece of Fabric B (inner fabric), repeat step one.
3. Place the sewn Fabric B piece inside the sewn Fabric A piece, placing them WRONG sides together and matching up the seam lines.
   
4. Pin the bottoms of the two pieces together, and stitch around the bottom, using a ½" seam.
   
5. Stitch down the existing vertical seam line created by the inner and outer fabrics. (This is the seam that was created when you sewed the fabrics into the 'box' - you should have lined these seam lines up in step 3.)
   
6. This vertical seam will create a starting point to measure the other vertical seams around the box. With your chalk pencil, mark additional seam lines at the following intervals: 9", 3½", 3½", 9", and 3½". (In other words, you mark 9" from the first seam line, then 3½" from that newly drawn mark, then 3½" from that new one, etc, until you end up back at the starting line.)
   
7. Stitch a vertical seam along each drawn mark. You should now have a total of six sewn vertical seam lines that join the outer fabric and the inner fabric with the wrong sides together. These vertical seam lines have created 'capsules' where we will insert the cardboard to make the box stand up. Quite smart, no?

Creating and attaching the bottom of the box

1. With the wrong side facing up and the edges of the fabric inside the box, pin the 7½" x 9½" piece of Fabric A to the 'walls' you just made. This creates the box bottom.
2. Align the corners of this bottom piece with the vertical seams on the wall, line up your raw edges, and match long sides to long sides and short sides to short sides. The raw edges of the fabric should extend to the outside of the box, and when you look into the box you should see the wrong side of the bottom fabric.
   
3. Stitch all around, using a ½" seam. After attaching, carefully trim the seam allowance to ¼" – we will be absorbing this raw edge into the binding in the steps below, so we want to reduce the bulk as much as possible.

Creating binding and attaching to bottom

1. Next we will create the binding for the bottom of the box. Find on of your 1¾" x WOF strips and trim to 1¾" x 34" (this is the perimeter of the box plus 2" for a tail we'll use to finish our binding neatly). Fold the strip in half lengthwise and press. Now fold the raw edges in toward the middle lengthwise seam line, and fold together. Press. (Your raw edges are now inside the binding strip.
   
2. Repeat to create your second binding strip for the top. Set this top piece aside. Remember, you can choose to use either matching or contrasting fabric for the binding; you could even make the top and bottom bindings out of different fabrics.
3. Pin bottom binding strip to the bottom of the box, encasing the raw seam allowance inside the fold of your bias tape. Carefully pin.
   
4. Stitch binding in place, keeping your seam line a "scant" (very small) ¼" in from the bottom folded edges, but still being sure to catch both sides of the bias tape in the seam. Stitch all the way around the perimeter of the bottom, but stop about 1" from the end for finishing.
5. We cut our original binding piece about 2" longer than the perimeter (step #1 above), so you should have a slight tail at the end of your binding. Trim this to about 1-1½" (enough to overlap the start of your binding by about ½"). Fold under the end of the tail to create a clean edge and wrap around the start of the binding. Overlap about ½" and stitch in place, matching your seam line. Be sure to backstitch at the end of the binding to secure it in place.
   
   

Stiffening the walls with cardboard and attaching top binding

1. Insert the cardboard pieces between the vertical seam lines to stiffen the walls of the box.
   
2. Switch the regular sewing needle currently in the machine to the leather needle.
3. Pin the other binding strip to the top of the box, encasing the raw edges and the top of the cardboard inside the binding.
4. Stitch a 'scant' (very small) ¼" in from the edge of the binding.We are using the leather needle for this step because it is extra sharp and heavy duty for sewing through the cardboard. Attach the binding, following steps 4 and 5 above. Stitch slowly - your machine is working very hard to get through the thick cardboard - sort of like running uphill. You may find it helpful to lengthen your stitch length a bit at this point, so your machine can get the job done in less stitches.
   

Making the bottom insert

1. Lay the 6½" x 8½" cardboard piece on the wrong side of the 7½" x 9½" piece of fabric B. Fold the edges of the fabric over the cardboard, being careful to keep the fabric tight on the corners. Press in place and stitch (you're stitching through fabric and cardboard again so you should still be using the leather needle in your machine) around all sides to secure the fabric to the cardboard. Stitch close to the raw edge of the fabric so it will lay nice and flat. Press again after stitching.
   
2. Insert the fabric covered cardboard into the bottom of the box, with the fabric side facing up.
3. To collapse the box, simply remove this bottom insert; the short sides will fold in between the cardboard panels, and the whole thing will fold flat for storage.
   

Hints and Tips

Alternate box sizes

You can adapt the instructions above to any size box.

1. First, determine the size you want the finished box to be, and cut the fabric to: the perimeter of the box plus 1/2" all around (for the seam allowances) x the height you want the finished 'walls' to be. Cut one piece of fabric for the outside and one piece of fabric for the inside.
2. Determine where you want the corners of your box, and stitch four vertical seam lines in those locations.
3. Divide the seams on the SHORT sides in half, and stitch another seam line in this location (this allows the box to 'collapse' when you take out the bottom insert).
4. Once you know where the corners of the box will be, you can cut your bottom fabrics to the appropriate size. You'll need two pieces: one for the box bottom (add ½" all around for the seam allowance) and one for the cardboard bottom insert (add ¾" all around to give you enough fabric for folding over the cardboard).
5. Then cut two pieces of binding long enough to fit the perimeter of the box plus about 2" for finishing.
6. Cut cardboard for sides to size to fit in the 'capsules,' and sew everything together. Just remember, the bigger the box you hope to create, the stiffer the cardboard will need to be to support the sides and the contents.

Other machines suitable for this project include the White 2200 Multi-Tasker and the Singer 8673 Curvy.

Comments (43)

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... @ Holly @ www.abakershouse.com - thanks for sharing your success with these fun baskets. They look great! I love paisley.

February 01, 2012

Holly @ www.abakershouse.com said:

... I love your project and finally got around to making some baskets. I took a few short cuts and highlighted your baskets on my blog http://www.abakershouse.com/20...skets.html Thank you for the wonderful instructions and fantastic ideas. Can't wait to try more of your suggestions! Thanks!

February 01, 2012

AngelicaSews said:

... This is perfect! I was looking for something to use in my bathroom on my shelves to corral/organize various bath products, and this definitely fits the bill. I won't be using cardboard, though. I'm worried the moisture in my bathroom will eventually cause problems. Instead, I'll be getting comething called Coroplast from my local art store. It's like corrugated cardboard, but waterproof!

January 31, 2012

sarez38 said:

... Thanks so much for the great idea! I needed something completely washable (my basket was going by the door for my towel for wiping off the dog), so I just left the top seams open (so I could slide the cardboard out) and created a removable liner for the inside with a 1.5" border that folded over. Then I didn't have to finish any edges (except an easy hem on the border) or cover the bottom piece of cardboard. Works great!

January 17, 2012

Mrs. Rum said:

... I'm looking forward to trying this. We recycle our stuff for the Easter Bunny and set everything out on the table the night before Easter for him - but regular Easter baskets take up WAY too much room. So I'm going to make new Easter baskets from this pattern. We can fold them up when Easter is over....OR use the baskets to hold the plastic eggs and grass....and they'll look much prettier on the shelf. Ha! There's an idea I didn't see coming. Thanks so much!

January 01, 2012

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... @ Khloe's mama - the corners are tricky, but this has been a super popular project that many folks have done with success - so I'm sure you can do it too . If you read through all the comments below, you'll see that several folks found using a fabric adhesive as a good way to keep the binding in place. Sewing with a zipper foot would also help you get in closer.

December 17, 2011

Khloe's mama said:

... I am having trouble with the corners on the bottom binding. I am not sure if I am doing it wrong? Or If my technique just isn't working. Can anyone help me with an easy way to do the corners! I love this box I use them for gift baskets for baby showers I go to and took the drawers out of an old dresser and replaced them with these it looks so cute in my daughters room!

December 16, 2011

angel310 said:

... omg.. this is so much better then a diaper box. I had used a diaper box and covered it with fabric. not as sturdy as this thank you!

September 26, 2011

alicia.thommas said:

... Hi Jennifer LS, Adding compartments to this collapsible basket would be a whole new project. It's hard to think how you would do that with this pattern. You could always insert a purchased divider – maybe since you are thinking of using it for pens, see if you can find an inexpensive plastic compartmentalized box that suits your needs. We may do something with compartments in the future, but without the collapsible feature.

August 05, 2011

Jennifer LS said:

... Thanks for the tutorial it looks great. Do you know if I could add dividers to the inside? I would like it to have 9 squares inside to hold my markers. Any ideas would be appreciated.

August 04, 2011

Melissa K. said:

... Thanks for the tutorial! I tried it out the first time today, but modified the dimensions to make a quarter circle box to fit on a corner shelf unit. One suggestion I have for the top binding is using small binder clips instead of pins to hold the binding in place. I believe I will use a walking dog foot next time to help with this step. I also didn't bother to stitch the bottom fabric to the cardboard; I used liquid stitch. All in all, I'm very pleased with the result. I only wish I had prettier fabric.

July 23, 2011

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi laurarj84 -- a couple folks below have recommended the crewel plastic you can find at craft stores or the corrugated plastic you can find at home improvement stores. Unless it was a super-stiff cardboard, almost like a chipboard, I don't know that I would trust cardboard to be rigid enough at a toy box size.

April 26, 2011

Laurarj84 said:

... After reading this through a good few times I am now ready to have a go! I can't wait. It's going to be a toy box for my little girl (10months), as she now has so many that the little tub she has is nowhere near big enough. So I will be scaling up. Do you think the cardboard will be strong enough for its use as a toy box? Any suggestions as to what I could use that might be stronger would be great. Thanks all!

April 26, 2011

leslie Fladberg said:

... I love this idea. I decided to make one to hold my girls' library books. They are still a little young and Library books get scattered throughout the house. So I made one with a tag on it that says Library Books. Now we have a central location and hopefully will have no more missing library books~

March 08, 2011

Darli Vieira. said:

... Otima idéia. Obrigada por dividir com a gente. bjs. Darli

February 22, 2011

Sarah-Jane said:

... For a 10.5 x 10.5 x 11 inch cube (the exact size of the one's sold at Lowes to fit in the Cube Cubbies) cut your outer and inner fabric at 43 inches long by 12 inches wide. The bottom piece should be 11.5 x 11.5 square. Sections should be sewn at 10.5 inches, 5.25 inches, and 5.25 inches. This includes a .5 inch seam allowance for all sizes. As for anyone who's having difficulties sewing theirs, I suggest scooting your sewing machine so that the free arm pokes out over the edge of your sewing surface, so that the box can hang down next to your table. This gives you tons more turning room. The only thing I had trouble with was the corners, and the cardboard has just enough give that you can cram it through. One last thing, you can buy corrugated plastic from any home improvement store, and it'll make your bins last ages longer than regular cardboard, and they're easier to clean too!

February 03, 2011

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Hom said:

... Hi Natalie - thanks for sharing your picture. I promise to never let on about the hot glue

January 29, 2011

TGND said:

... I love this - finally a way to have attractive affordable baskets on my shelves. I've been using ugly plastic totes from the dollar store and wondering if I could cover them some how.

January 29, 2011

Natalie said:

... I just made 4 of these for our changing table shelves. They turned out so well! I admit that I just ended up hot gluing the top binding on, but I think it worked just as well! http://i843.photobucket.com/al.../011-1.jpg

January 28, 2011

Nanato7 said:

... Thanks for the pattern but like a couple other folks here it is not a simple one to do. I tried to change the size but ended up with more fabic for the side pieces than the bottom. Everything was perfect until it came time to sew it on. I'll try again with the size given to see where I went wrong. I did use the plastic used for crewel projects instead of cardboard. It was sturdy enough and can be washed without ruining the cardboard, plus it was much easier to sew with a stitch length to fit the holes in the plastic.

January 24, 2011

honestnicewoman said:

... JenJen mentioned using Fabri-Tac to help hold the binding in place. Here is a good Info Page for Fabri-Tac. It is full of useful info! It also has helpful info in case you need to remove the glue from fabric. http://www.beaconadhesives.com/cgfab.html BTW, Thank you for the tutorial. I'm looking forward to making these. I'm also looking forward to proving to My Guy that saving boxes (amongst many other things) does in fact save money and creates beautiful items through recycling!

January 22, 2011

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi rmhb - You can certainly try your idea of cutting back the cardboard; in theory it sounds like it could work. It really isn't very hard to stitch through the cardboard, and by having this stiffener go all the way to the top, it insures the binding won't be floppy. I'm sure it would still stand up fine and fold down fine as well with the slightly shorter cardboard panels. It just wouldn't have the nice, sharp corners around the top.

January 11, 2011

rmhb said:

... I'm currently working on this project and I had a thought about the cardboard. Couldn't you just have the cardboard be a little shorter than the top of the fabric and sew the binding on without having to sew through the cardboard? It seems like it would still be sturdy and stand on it's own. Just wondering...

January 10, 2011

Ruby Rose said:

... This was AWESOME! I'm making these today for several areas of my house- my craft room, the nursery,and the bathroom to name a few with a few modifications. 1- instead of sewing the binding, I'm going to sew the bottom to the liner inside, and trim to 1/8", and use some fray-check to keep the raw edges from unraveling flip it to the inside and the put the bottom insert in. Voila- no need to bottom bind, and 2- different sizes for different areas. for example, I need 12x12 boxes in my craft area, 6x9's in my nursery and 12x7's in my bathroom. This is an awesome tutorial, and I can't WAIT to make these!! Thanks so much!

November 20, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi andrea rb -- sorry you are having some struggles; sewing in 3-D is always a bit of a challenge. If you scroll above, you'll see my suggestions to two other people who were having some trouble: answers are to "Angela Nicole" and "Susan10" ... the only other hint I have is to try switching to a zipper foot to allow you to get closer to the edge. I hope that helps!

November 17, 2010

andrea rb said:

... Im also having trouble with the top binding, im having trouble getting the box maneuvered around the sewing machine to sew the binding on. I cant see to figure out what i am doing wrong. I can get it under the foot to sew only the middle of each side and then i cant figure out how to go from there and do the corners. Anyone else have this problem while making theirs?

November 16, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi Heidi -- the long sides are 9", the short sides are 7" and the height is 6".

November 10, 2010

Heidi said:

... Love this! I need to make some. What are the dimensions of the basket in your tutorial?

November 09, 2010

rh leather goods said:

... this kind of box is so beautiful that i like it very much

October 25, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi hiasun -- what a wonderful idea and use for this tutorial. Sounds perfect!

September 23, 2010

hiasun said:

... I love this idea. I need to make something similar with a cover for "Operation Christmas Child". We start our boxes in July, and add things to them over the next few months. I would like to make them using a Christmas print so that the box is already decorated and just needs to be filled with goodies. Would probably use this for all my gift giving. Thanks for the tutorial.

September 23, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi Angela Nicole, I'm sorry your basket isn't turning out how you'd like. It's hard to "diagnose" the issues you might be having from afar. My best general hint would be to use lots of pins to hold the binding in place. Sometimes it helps to pin horizontally... just make sure you insert them with the head of the pin facing you as you sew so you can easily pull them out as you go. If you're still worried the binding will slip, you could hand baste it place. Other than securing the binding, the other thing to keep in mind is to sew slowly, stopping as needed (with your needle in the down position) to adjust the position of your fabric, making sure the layers are staying flat. The only other thing I can think of to try is to use a 1/4" foot if you have one - it might be helpful keeping your stitch line straight if you feel you're struggling finding a clear mark to follow on your regular presser foot and/or needle plate. I hope try #2 works better for you. Don't give up!!

August 12, 2010

Angela Nicole said:

... I am using this amazing tutorial to make a baby shower present for a friend. It's been a long time seen I dusted off my sewing machine; and I find I am having some difficulties. After sewing my bottom border on the box, I realized that it no longer looks like something I would like to give as a present. The border looks terrible--and this is the easy border without the cardboard! I hope to start over tomorrow and was hoping you could give me a few helpful hints. Thanks. c:

August 12, 2010

Jenjen said:

... For keeping the binding in place while you sew use Fabric Tac. Love that stuff!! It dries almost instantly, and holds well. I use it for everything I need to pin or baste.

July 23, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi Susan10 -- I'm sorry you're having some struggles with the top of the box. You said sewing through the cardboard is no problem, so that means your needle and stitch length are good. I'm guessing that maybe you're having trouble keeping the binding in place? It can be a challenge to get enough pins in there to keep everything stable, because of the cardboard. You might try some fusible seam tape to hold the bias tape in place (like Steam-a-Seam or Stitch Witchery). That would keep the binding from slipping. Also, there isn't any cardboard in the actual corners. So, you could also try stitching into each corner and back-tacking. Then pull the basket out from under the needle, rotate it to the next side, replace the basket under the needle (lining up your stitch line as perfectly as possible, then continue stitching to the next corner. Do this in each corner. Hope that helps. Here's a link to some fusible tape available online at fabric.com: http://www.fabric.com/SearchResults2.aspx?Source=Header&SearchText=fusible+seam+tape&CategoryID=1d5f47dc-9991-4088-93f3-26a376046a5e

June 27, 2010

Susan10 said:

... I am having a time putting on the binding on the top - it is not going smoothly - any suggestions would be very helpful. Mind you I have made mine bigger. All the card board pieces are in - I can't the think to bend around the sewing machine? I have no problem sewing through the cardboard?

June 27, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi Erin -- rectangle into square, huh? That takes a few more brain cells than I have late on a Saturday night . In general, the height is increasing by 4" from 6" to 10". So all the height measurements need to increase by 4". The long side of ours is currently nine, so that only needs an 1" extra, our short side is 7" so that side's measurements need to increase by 3". I would suggest starting with these simple increases. And then, because I haven't tested this myself and so can't guarantee it, I'd recommend making a prototype out of some scrap fabric to make sure it all works out. To be 100% sure of how it would all change, that's what I'd have to do. And... due to my earlier comment about late on Saturday night... that's not in the cards. I hope this helps. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

June 26, 2010

Erin Wright said:

... I just found this project, and would love to make some for my kids rooms. I need to scale up the size to a 10"x10" cube. What is the best way to resize this pattern to that size? Thanks!

June 25, 2010

DeesDesigns said:

... These are so cute! Just found out that I'm going to be a Grandma and that our daughter would like me to make these for the babies room

April 15, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... What a great idea, CalicoCaliDsgns! These boxes are so versatile ... you can use them for just about anything

February 07, 2010

CalicoCaliDsgns said:

... Thanks for such a great, detailed tutorial! I can't wait to make these! I'm gonna make one to hold all of my reusable tote bags!

February 05, 2010

liz.johnson, Editor, Sew4home said:

... What a great idea! Thanks for passing it along and for letting us know you enjoyed the project. These boxes are super fun.

August 13, 2009

bettina763 said:

... I made this & so totally LOVE IT!!!! 'Cept mine is a "car stuff box", between the seats to hold all my stuff that was previously rolling around my car....

August 12, 2009

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