I feel I need to preface this post with a disclaimer:
Although I’ll mention having made something once in awhile, I haven’t actually posted a DIY on Mini Piccolini before. There’s a reason for this: It’s because I am a more enthusiastic than actually skilled DIY/crafter. I craft sort of like I cook. I don’t follow recipes too closely – I see instructions as a suggestion more than anything. I take shortcuts. I’m lazy. So you’ll see in my instructions below that I’m not too picky about measurements etc. I just eyeball everything.
Having said that, I want to share something I made the other day. We have a ton of IKEA Skubb storage boxes. They come flat, zipper into boxes in several sizes, and are perfect for storing baby changing essentials. I’m also going to be using them to organize Baby #2′s clothes in the dresser we bought. Baby clothes are so teeny and things get cluttered quickly, so using these boxes makes everything a little more organized. In a drawer or cupboard, they are fine as they are, but we have three of them at our bathroom changing station that I wanted to pretty up. So I covered them in fabric.
This is a super easy project – it’s just like wrapping a present. I used a cute fabric that I bought while living in India, and a glue gun. I’m sure you could use fabric glue but I like how quickly glue gun glue dries, making it easy to stretch the fabric to cover the box without wrinkles. Here is how I did it:
1. Cover the two short ends of your box (if you are working on a little square box, just choose two sides opposite one another. Start by turning the box upside down and placing a strip of glue along the edge of the bottom. Glue down your fabric. Now flip the box on it’s side so you have one short end up, place a thin strip of glue all along the edges of the box, and press your fabric down over the glue. Then put thin strips of glue along the edges of the long sides of the box and press the edges of your fabric square over the side. Finally glue the last edge of your fabric into the inside of the box. Repeat on the other side/short end. Before covering the other sides, turn the box upside down and fold any annoying fabric flaps on the bottom into themselves and glue them in place so they are not in the way when you glue on your long piece of fabric.
2. Lay your box with two sides already covered on the long piece of fabric and set it up so it’s centered. Turn the box so the bottom up, fold back the fabric a little on one side, and make a thin glue strip along the edge but not all the way out to the sides. Press the fabric down. Flip the box over so one of the uncovered sides is up, and make a thin strip of glue all around the edge, but maybe a half to 3/4 of an inch (just in from the fabric edge that is already glued on) in from the sides (the glue can be right along the bottom and top). Press down your fabric. Now fold over the edges of the fabric and tuck in so you are covering the raw edges. Place a strip of glue right along the edges (on top of the raw edge from the covered sides) and glue.
3. Turn the box over again so the bottom is up, and place a strip of glue all along the sides, about a half or 3/4 of an inch in from the edge (or just inside your fabric edge. Press down the fabric. Then fold in the edges to cover any raw fabric and glue the sides of the bottom down as well.
4. Cover the last side. Place strips of glue along the edge but inside the raw edge of the fabric that is already glued there and stretch the fabric over the glue. This side is the hardest to get pretty since the fabric will already want to sort of fold in on itself but on my box this is also the side where the pattern will be upside down and against a wall, so it doesn’t bother me too much.
5. Lastly, fold the fabric into the box and glue that last little flap into the inside of the box. Done!
