i posted this in miscellaneous, and said i would make a tute if anyone wanted one, because every time i see it referred to on crafster, no one will post one, and people were saying they were buying instructions on ebay.... so i got asked for a tute, and then realized this category existed, so it's moving here now!
i just made this wipes container, my first, 2 days ago. i took crappy pics with my camera phone in-between steps, hopefully when it's done it'll be clear as mud!
here's the finished product-
padded top-
un-padded bottom-
front view-
and hopefully my instructions make sense. it's not too hard to make, i promise!
you will need-
travel wipes container. the one pictured is a huggies container.
pencil and paper to trace a pattern from your container.
batting, something to pad the top. (i used cotton balls, cause they
were all i had, and i was desperate to do something crafty...)
glue gun and glue.
fabric to cover top and bottom, and 52 inches of 1/2 inch wide
braided trim, for a huggies case like mine. but measure yours!
narrower trim may work, but for your first try i'd use the 1/2 inch!
(you could use ribbon or something else, but something really
flat will look lumpy, i imagine.)
also, you could rough up the container where the glue will go with sandpaper if you wanted to, so it'll stick better. i didn't think of it beforehand...
Step 1) make pattern. I traced around my wipes container and just
eyeballed how far up it seemed the fabric would need to go
past the edge, about 1/4 inch wider around the whole case.
the thing about 1/2 inch braided trim is that it covers alot,
you really have alot of leeway when you're gluing your fabric
down. just try to err on the side of being to short, not
too long where you overhang the middle. trim can't cover
that!
sorry for the glare, but here's the pattern, same for top and bottom, i just traced the top. (technically, you are using less fabric on the bottom, but i found it safer to just use the pattern from the stuffed top that's a little large for the bottom, and trim while i worked, rather than guess wrong and have the fabric be too small.)-
Step 2) cut out your fabric and center it on your wipes container. i
centered mine upside-down as pictured, because then
gravity didn't mess with my fabric. if it looks like it'll hang
past the part where the trim will cover it, remember you
need room to stuff it! i did my trimming when i was done
with all but 1 of the short sides, and had partly stuffed the
top.
Step 3) glue down your fabric. make sure the ends aren't too
shaggy, and just glue the raw edges to the container. on
the corners, just fold it like a hospital corner on a sheet,
later it'll be covered by the trim.
Step 4) When the hole on the last side gets small enough, stuff the
inside. before the picture i had a bigger hole, and tried to
stuff it with a pencil. i had to open the hole more and use
my finger to get in the corners. finding the right amount of
stuffing was the trickiest part, at first one side was puffier,
but i hadn't added enough batting. once it was full enough,
it flattened out. and i used cotton balls. i don't recommend
that (although it worked) but the baby magazines said i'd
need them, and i don't! (and i had no batting on hand)
Step 5) Add the trim. i did this by adding glue to the trim, 1 and 1/2
to 2 inches at a time, not the fabric. i felt better about the
coverage that way, and could place it where i wanted it.
may just be personal preference, but it worked well! when
you add the trim you'll see that it's like magic over all the
uneven scary looking ends!
i started and ended my trim in the back of the case, where
it's the least seen. it doesn't really look any different than
the rest though. just cut the ends carefully where they try
to unravel, and put enough glue under the trim to hold the
little loose pieces but not come through the trim and show.
it's easier than it sounds!
Step 6) now do the same thing on the bottom. it's the same, except
not padded, on mine anyway. you have to trim your fabric a
little, because it's not padded. i glued one side and then
trimmed the others when i knew it was lined up and couldn't
move.
lastly, go around your trim and feel for edges you can pull away from your fabric a little, and add more glue. i know the trim will get ripped off my case otherwise!
tada! you're done! and i'm done with my first tute! yea for us!
