Monday, September 1, 2014

Mail Organizer Tutorial


Hi there! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend! We had a great weekend--we spent time doing some yard work, some DIY projects for the house and also celebrating my little one's second birthday! It was a fun weekend, but I am definitely ready to be back on schedule tomorrow! 

Not long ago we bought our first house, and I have been slowly getting things made for our house.  One thing that we don't have is a lot of counter space.  Which can be super frustrating. So more often than not, our mail gets shoved in whatever corner we can find and we call it good.  

Well I am pretty sick and tired of trying to find a spot to put our mail! So I decided we needed a mail organizer that I could hang on the wall--close to the back door (where we come into the house). 

So I came up with this three pocket mail organizer: 

This mail organizer is the perfect size to hang on our wall in the kitchen, right by our back door.  So when we come into the house, we can stick whatever mail we got that day in one of the pockets! 

So far it has worked out wonderfully! Plus, making it out of this gorgeous fabric makes it more of a decoration rather than a big ol' eye sore on my wall! 


I decided to do three pockets, just so we had plenty of room for all of our mail, and also any papers the kids brought home from school that I needed to keep or look at later.   Or you could also put your shopping list in there, your stamps, and whatever else you need to have close by! 


Another thing I thought of, is that this would be a perfect organizer for your kid's locker at school! You would most likely need to make it a bit smaller, (which would be super easy to do) but how fun would this be for them to hang in their locker?  



This is a quick project, and comes together quickly! So let's get started!




You can purchase all the following fabrics I used in this project at the shop!  I recommend getting 1/2 yard cuts for each piece. 

Up Parasol  (floral fabric)
Old Script (script fabric)
Linen Mochi Solid ( Background)
Interfacing  ( You will need 1.5 yards of interfacing)

Supplies and cutting: 


  • 2 pieces of linen and interfacing cut 12" x 13":
  • 2 pieces of cotton fabric and interfacing cut to 12" x 11" (floral pockets)
  • 1 piece of cotton fabric and interfacing cut to 12" x 11" (Script pocket)
  • 1 piece of cotton cut to 6" x 15" (handle)
  • coordinating thread
Step 1: Iron your interfacing onto all your pieces. 




Step 2 : Fold your pocket pieces in half lengthwise and press:

Step  3: Top stitch across all three pockets (along the folded edge) I like to use a 3/8" seam.  (now if you don't like to have any raw edges, then you can serge the edges of your pockets, I did not do this step because the two side edges with be within the seam allowance, so the only raw edge will be the bottom edge, and it will be hidden within your organizer)


Here are all three of your pockets ready to go!

Step  4:  Place your front piece of linen right side up and then place your first pocket 4" from the top.  Make sure your folded edge where you top stitched is at the top. You will then stitch across the two sides and the bottom using a 1/4" seam.


Step  5: Align your next pocket 2" from the top of the first pocket.  You will also sew along the two sides and bottom using a 1/4" seam.


Step 6 :  Add your last pocket--Align your last pocket 2" from the top of the second pocket.  You will also sew along the two sides and bottom using a 1/4" seam.




Step  7:  Make your handle: Fold piece in thirds:


Press:

Fold in half again and press, then top stitch along both long sides of the handle using an 1/8" seam.

Step 8:  Attach your strap.  Pin your strap 1 1/2" from either side and sew a stay stitch 1/4" from the edge.



Step  9:  Now tuck your handle in like this:


Step 10:  Now lay your back piece of linen right sides together and pin all the way around.  Then stitch all around the perimeter using 5/8" seam, leaving a 4" opening at the bottom. 



Step  11:  Once sewn, clip your corners.  Then flip right side out and press.  Fold in the opening and press and then top stitch around the entire perimeter.



And you're done! 
You have yourself a cute and functional mail organizer! 

Talk to you soon,


8 comments:

eileensideways said...

very cute, love the fabric

Anonymous said...

I agree, the fabric combination is just perfect!

claudia said...

Very cute and your instructions are easy to follow. These would make great hostess gifts around the holidays too!

Unknown said...

Cute! I've got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow morning that links to your tutorial:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-fabric-mail-organizer/2014/09/03/
--Anne

Anonymous said...

"Sew" pretty! Such lovely fabrics!!

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

Oh, this is so cute! I can totally use this:)

Myria - Beloved Bijou said...

Adorable! I'm going to try this. Although I may modify it a bit by adding another strap to the bottom so I can fold it and take it with me when necessary. ..we'll see, lol.

Nimita Daftary said...

Hey thanks a lot for sharing this. I was excatly looking something like this. I was seaching for articles to buy hanging mail organizer where i came across your post. Very creative! Keep posting similar stuff. Many thanks once again :)

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