Finishing ideas

Here's my bits and pieces I have had sewn up for a while now.

Wasn't sure how I wanted to use them at first, I was going to make a needle case with them as described in the mag they are from,
but I wasn't liking the way they fit together, so came up with this...


Firstly I took a magnetic lidded box, from The Range, removed the hinges and painted it white, with acrylic paint.


If your painting yours, it will take a few coats of paint as the wood just soaks it up. Leave to dry between each coat of paint and re-apply as needed. 

Once dry, I then started added some decorative papers. I used strong double sided tape to attach the outside and collall all purpose glue on the inside.




You can measure your box if you wish, but on a small project like this, I found it easier to just place the paper
and mark out with a pencil where to cut the paper. 
I also wanted to see some of the white paint showing.


Remember to mark out for the hinges if your box as them

   
Once I had all my paper in place I went round with thin decorative sticky strips.

   
Then I decorated in the inside of the box and re-attached the hinges. I also added some white felt to the bottom of the box.

Now to add my cross stitch...

Firstly I interfaced all my pieces. This adds strength to the piece and prevents fraying when cut.

I added my sides...


Now, had I thought this through beforehand I would have sewn the smaller side pieces to fit accordingly, but at the time I sewn them up, I didn't know I would be putting them on a box, lol. 
It's best to think about these things first! No matter here though, it still looks fine as it is. 

The top took a bit more deciding. I was going to cover all the lid with the bigger piece, but then I decided making it into a pincushion and just gluing the whole thing on top.

I interfaced it first of course, cut another piece of fabric to match the size I wanted, then sewn around leaving a generous 1cm seam allowance and a 2 inch gap for turning through.
I then trimmed off the corners, trimmed the seam allowance with pinking shears, turned right side out and stuffed with toy filling. Finally sewing up the gap used for turning with a small ladder stitch.


I find it easier to mark out fabric with a Frixion pen - the marks disappear with heat from the iron.


And here's the finished project...

    



I will add a nice decorative handle on the front and some magnetic strip for the inside to hold my needles more securely when not in use.

I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration to make your own!