Hide your dirty clothes in these stylish DIY hampers!
Materials & Tools
- Masonite boards 48 x 48 inch sheet – thickness 1/8th of an inch
- 4 yards of fabric (54 inches wide)
- Sewing machine, pins, needle & threads
- Ruler & scissors
- Hand saw or jig saw
- Fuse tape
- Iron
Method:
Cut masonite boards using hand saw or jig saw:
- Bottom piece, 13 x 20 inches (quantity 1)
- Top piece, 14 x 21 inches (quantity 1)
- Short sides, 13 x 24 inches (quantity 2)
- Long sides, 20 x 24 inches (quantity 2)
Cut fabric:
- Bottom, 15.25 x 22.25 inches (quantity 2)
- Top, 21 x 28 inches (quantity 2)
- Side panel, 54 x 70 inches (quantity 1)
Bottom:
- Centre bottom masonite board in between two pieces of fabric with good sides facing out
- Pin fabric and masonite assembly together
- Using a single sewing foot guide (ie. foot guide used for zippers), sew around masonite board as close as possible for a snug fit of the masonite board in between the fabric pieces
- Set aside
Sides:
- Fold fabric along 70 inch length down centre, creating a folded piece 70 inches x 27 inches (good sides facing out)
- Using a ruler and sewing chalk, mark the following lines:
- 1 inch sew line along bottom folded edge (line A)
- 13.25 inches wide between lines B & C
- 20.25 inches wide between lines C & D
- 13.25 inches wide between lines D & E
- 20.25 inches wide between lines E & F
- Sew along lines C, D & E (with good sides of fabric facing out)
Sewing bottom to side piece:
- Pin bottom assembly (loose cut sides) with side panel piece along line A, lining up short and long sides
- Sew bottom piece with side panel around four sides
- Position and pin sew lines B & F and sew together
- Turn assembly inside out and trim excess hems
- Slide in cut masonite panels in appropriate pockets
- Trim away folded fabric from inside hamper at top of masonite boards, leaving only outer fabric
- Fold over outer fabric to inside box
- Cut fuse tape, position inside folded fabric, and iron in place (repeat for all sides)
Top:
- Position fabric with good sides facing in
- Top stitch a U-shape around fabric – two long sides (25 inches) and one short side (18 inches)
- Turn assembly inside out and iron down seams
- Top stitch U-shape (centered in sewn piece) – two long sides (21 inches) and one short side (14 inches)
- Slide in top masonite board
- Using leading foot on sewing machine, sew along remaining edge to fit top piece snug in centre of top assembly
- Fold over open edge (from larger U-shape sew line) and iron edges inside
- Top stitch along edge
- Position top assembly on box
- Fold over corners of top assembly (flange) to create a lid structure and pin in place
- Using needle and thread, sew corners in place
Option – modify dimensions to create different size boxes
Approximate Cost – $30 – $40
Courtesy Antonio Bellusci