One thing that all crafters seem to have is stuff. Lots of stuff. Or, more correctly , "supplies." Whatever you call them they need a place to be put between crafting sessions. I have found that those stacked plastic drawers that you can put wheels on or leave as-is are a perfect solution. I have several of them with six rather skinny drawers but they come in many different configurations with different sized drawers (
figure A).
There is one problem. If you don't really have space to put a stack of plastic drawers that are not very attractive you'll need a cover-up, which was the project for today. Almost any reasonably heavy fabric can be used depending on the decor of the room it will be placed in. You can disguise it even further by placing a lamp and a magazine on top . . . or books . . . or candlesticks and a candy dish. If you make the front opening easy to open you don't even need to take the things off of the top when you need to open one of the drawers.
Materials:
stacked plastic drawers*
fabric to cover all but the bottom
ribbon or fabric for closing tabs
tape measure
scissors
straight pins
*The storage shelves are available in office supply stores (Staples, Office Depot , etc.) and discount stores (K-Mart, Target, Wal-mart, etc.).
The cover for our storage cart has seams up the two back corners but the front corners are closed with fabric tabs for easy access to the drawers. The cart I used on the show measured 26-3/4 inches high, 16-1/4 inches deep and 12-5/8 inches wide . Whatever cart you are covering make sure it is fully assembled before you measure . If you will be putting it on wheels add them before measuring.
Steps:
1. To make the top piece measure the depth and width of the top then add one inch to both measurements to allow for a 1/2-inch seam allowance all around. The top was 16-1/4 inches deep and 12-5/8 inches wide so the material I cut for the top was 17-1/4" x 13-5/8".
2. For the two sides measure the height, then add two inches to allow for a 1-1 /2-inch hem at the bottom of each piece and 1/2 inch for the seam allowance at the top. Measure the width and add two inches to allow for a 1/2-inch seam along the edge that will be stitched to the back panel and 1-1/2 inches along the edge that will be left open at the front of the container. This extra 1-1/2 inches gets turned back like a hem so that it looks neat.
3. For the back panel, measure the height and width then add one inch to the width to allow for 1/2-inch seam allowances down each side and two inches to the length for a 1/2-inch seam allowance to the top and 1-1/2-inch hem along the bottom.
4. For the front panel add two inches to the length This allows for the 1/2-inch seam allowance at the top and the 1-1/2-inch hem along the bottom. Add three inches to the width measurement to allow for a 1-1/2 inches turn back edge along each side which will be the front edge of the cover up that hangs loose.
5. The pieces can be stitched together in any desired sequence. After folding, pressing and stitching up the hems on all of the pieces I stitched the side, back and side panels together starting 1/2 inch down from the top edge. Press the seams open then stitch all three to the top piece (figure B). The front panel was added last stitching only along the top edge to the top piece. Note: The hems were all folded in twice before stitching so that no raw edges show. You may also wish to fold 1/4 inch of raw edge under along the side seams.
6. Place cover-up on the stack of drawers and decide whether you want to add ribbons , fabric tabs or buttons as closures along the front panel (figure C). I personally prefer the tabs, which are cut from the same fabric as the cover up. To make two tabs for each open side, cut eight matching pieces in any desired shape. Stack them two by two with right sides together. Stitch around three sides, turn right side out, fold in the open edge, press then hand-stitch closed. Sew one end to the front panel of the cover up and attach the other end to the side panel with a snap or Velcro.
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