I recently took a two day workshop on how to make a hexagonal etui, or fabric covered needlework box. The original was designed by Dilys Fronks, UK box designer, amongst other things. I believe some of her box designs are available as kits, but in this instance, we cut out our own card shapes. You need reasonably strong card, similar to the card used as mats to frame watercolours etc., but I would recommend you choose the palest colour available, to avoid any colour bleed through your choice of fabric.

For an 8in hexagonal box, you will need card, half a yard of main fabric, and a fat quarter of lining fabric. Batting (I used poly, which is perfectly adequate), One yard of .25in elastic. A stick type of card/paper glue (these are usually washable, here in Ireland, the most popular make is Pritt), small quantity of PVA glue, and usual sewing items such as needle, matching thread, scissors, rotary cutting equipment (use an old blade for the card), pins, and some laundry pegs come in useful.

The first shape you need to cut is the hexagon for the lid. One piece of card, cut from an 8in diameter circle, to yield a hexagon with 4in straight sides. Two other hexagons are needed, (box base, and base lining) cut from a circle, 7.5 in diameter, with 3.75in straight sides.

That's the hard part over. Other card shapes are as follows. 6 of 4in x 3.75in, box sides outer; 6 of 3.75in x 3.5in box sides lining; 6 of 4in x 1in lid brim.

I strongly recommend you mark each piece of card, and for the sides outer and lining, mark those with an arrow to indicate which way up they are. If you intend to make any more boxes after this one, in addition to the card shapes you need for this one, cut one additional piece of card for each shape, and set these aside as templates. Mark as such to avoid any possible confusion.

You will need one other card template, this is for the fabric gussets that enable to box to open up when the lid is removed. Six gussets are needed, cut to these measurements with a fold at the top. Once cut out, each gusset needs a narrow line of stitching down the central line. Fold vertically, and stitch 1/8th inch away from that vertical fold (through four layers of fabric) from the top to within one inch of the bottom, and fasten off.

This narrow line of stitching means that the gusset will fold nicely when you want to close the box.

Before you cut any more of your fabric, cut the outside strip needed for the lid brim. These needs to be 28in x 2in. LEAVE IN ONE LENGTH.

When you begin to cover any of your card shapes, stick the fabric or batting to the side that you haven't labelled - this will make it easier to remember what is what. Do groups of similar shapes together, to avoid confusion.

Cover the base hexagon in your outer fabric (no batting) Cut the fabric with a generous half an inch of turning all around, and use the stick glue, fold in opposite sides each time, neatening the corners as much as possible, keeping them as flat as you can, (you can use more glue to do this) If you have a damp cloth handy, it's good for wiping fingers to keep your work clean.

Cover the base lining hexagon, sticking a layer of batting on the card first, then pulling your lining fabric over the batting and gluing as before.

The lid hexagon can be covered in a similar manner, with a layer of batting, then lining fabric. Don't forget that the lid is larger, and will need a larger piece of fabric.

Lid brim card shapes are covered in lining fabric, without batting.

Hand sew the lid brim linings, right sides together, to the hexagon lid, sew all the long sides first, then return and sew the short sides of the brims, to form the lid shape.

The outside of the lid is then covered with a layer of batting, then an outer fabric. Glue this in place, and hold with pegs and allow to dry overnight.

The brim is covered on the outside with the 28in x 2in strip you set aside earlier. Fold in turnings and iron. This should then measure approx. 29in x 1in, but compare with your lid, especially if you have used a thicker batting. Once ironed, you can stitch it in place on the edge of the brim and then to the lid fabric. Begin with the end just overlapping one corner, so that when you have stitched all around the lid, the seam will fall on one of the corners of the brim, for a neat finish. You can hold this fabric strip in place with some dabs of glue to help you stitch it in place, or if you prefer, hold with pins or pegs, but these can be annoying when you use your needle and thread.

Box sides need to be covered by the outer fabric. If you want a padded outside, then you can add batting to each side before covering, but avoid the top one inch of each side, or your lid might not fit. This was the reason for drawing arrows on the sides right at the beginning, because the sides are just a little taller than wide, and it's easy to get the placement of the batting wrong. Glue it in place if you are using it, then cover the sides with your outer fabric.

Some more stitching is needed now. Cut from your outer fabric: 3 of 7in x 2in, fold lengthwise and sew with quarter inch seams. Turn to right sides out, and thread with 9in elastic. 3 of 7in x 4in for gathered pockets. Iron under a half in seam allowance, turn down again another half inch and seam. Thread through with 9in elastic. Secure the ends of the elastic with a safety pin at either end. Gather each pocket suffieiently to leave half an inch on either side, and glue to three of the padded box linings, approx two inches down from the top. I secured my elastic to the back with glue, and a few stitches at each side. I also stitched the base of the pockets to the lining fabric, evening out the gathers as much as possible.

The other three sides of the box have elasticated strips to secure reels of thread, and are attached in a similar manner, with glue and a few stitches to the lining fabric.

The outer base can now be stitched, right sides together with the outer sides. If you have added batting to these, make sure the batting is nearest the base, with the area free of batting furthest away from the base.

Thanks so much for the needlework box tutorial, beautiful boxes.

This last picture shows rough placement of the gussets. The seam needs to be facing up, so that they fold nicely when you want to close the box. Sticking these in place is a little tricky, but not too bad. In order to get the fold of the gussets as near to the top of your box sides, glue down a tiny corner, so that it isn't sticking out beyond the top of the box side. Glue them in pairs to ONE box side, the excess will lay on inside of the box base, and will get covered up once the base lining goes in. Glue pairs of gussets to ALTERNATE box sides, so that you can hold them in place with pegs to dry. Then you can cover these alternate sides with the lining sides that have gathered pockets. Use the PVA glue for this, as it's a little stronger, and peg/pin in place where you can.

Once they are dry, then glueing the other sides of the gussets to the other alternate box sides is a little harder, and needs the odd pin and peg wherever you can manage it, plus a little judicious propping because at this point your box will no longer lay flat. The lining sides with the gathered strips cover these gussets and box sides.

The box lining is stuck in next, to neaten the base, (see pic above)

I finished my box, but not quite everyone did - though they were all far enough along to be able to complete them at home. One class member fussy cut her box top fabric for a striking effect.

That's fantastic, thank you so much!

I have a kit for one of these, only it's square, and the instructions are terrible, everytime I pull it out I just get frustrated because I don't understand what they want me to do.

With these pictures, I think I'll be able to work it out! :-)

I have been enjoying this
tutorial, as you have been
posting it. It is a beautiful
sewing box. I might have
to try it out!! Thank You!!
:D :D :D :D :D

Thank you Blue, I hope you can work it out, they are great fun - just take one step at a time, even if you glue something in the wrong place, it's usually possible to pull it off it you do it fairly soon. One of our ladies managed to glue on her box liners with the gathered pockets upside down. We got them off and back on the right way up, so that all was well.

Sulabug, you were quick off the mark if you spotted me posting in the middle, thank you for you kind comments.

WOW!!

its just stunning. thank you so much for posting this.

i look forward to making one.

Awesome tute LaceLady!!! Thank you for putting it together for us :D :D :D

Ok, just another thing I want to make.....thanks for the great tute!!!

Aaaaamazing, Lesley! Beautiful work!

I know just the fabric I shall use to make one as I follow your wonderful tut.

Thanks so much for sharing this and the beautiful boxes.

I so want to make one or two or maybe three or more of these. I can see also making a few adjustments and dot sum foenthe girls for jewelry etc. I will have to think about it. This christmas is mostly going to be a home made one.

Thank you everyone for the kind comments. Cutie, yes, why not for jewellery? You could add gathered pockets on all six sides. Or you could make it taller, say 5 or 6in, instead of 4in. Put the elasticated strips nearer the top, and hang necklaces on them to avoid tangles.

Lace this is brilliant and so adaptable - it would make a great gift as well, filled with notions or I guess if you were rich jewellery!!!

I'm definitely going to make it ONE DAY!!! Hey, you could use an OBW block for the top! :D

Thank you for such clear and detailed instructions - you put in a lot of work for us, my friend! :D

Lacelad, thank you for the great tute !

They are all lovely boxes! And what a great quilty gift idea, too. :D

Lesley, thank you so much for such a wonderful tute, I looked into buying one of these not so long ago because I thought they were so pretty.

Thanks for taking the time and all the effort photgraphing this for us.

Elle (another one in my file to make one day)

Thank you LL! This is a great Tute! I wanna make one...as soon as I have a moment... :D

Hmm, Patti, it took a mite longer than a moment, LOL. It was a two day workshop, 10am - 4pm. We had already stitched our gussets, gathered pockets and strips in advance, to save time. I finished my box about 2pm the second day, then spent the next couple of hours helping some of the others.

Having said all that, quite a lot of time is spent in glueing, and you could make one in a few eveings in front of the TV.

Cutebuns has already said that she is thinking of doing a machine embroidered top for one of these boxes, and I intend to make a second one with a machine quilted lid (done on my emb. module) - I have several designs approx 6in diameter.

Don't forget these boxes can be for other uses too. What about one for babies, (cotton balls, cotton buds, pacifiers, powder etc.) We have several new Grandmas on the board at the moment.

Or as an extra special gift box filled with bathroom products, soaps etc. that can be used for needlework once the bathroom things have been removed.

Once I have made my second one for a gift, I intend to make a larger one for me, perhaps 10in across. I have a large print on order to fussy cut the lid, and will use two hexagon cards stuck together before covering for this, to give some more strength. Whatever size you end up doing, just remember to make the lining cards about .25in smaller all around than the outside card shapes. And please post pics when you have done them. PLEASE.

Ummm, yes, I do realize that it will take longer than a moment, but see....I need that 1st moment to get all sucked into the project, then I'll stick with it to the end. Now, don't make me committ to when that moment will be, but hopefully not too long from now. I do love the boxes!

I would like to make this for sure. Thanks so much for this project.

Absolutely wonderful! You make it look easy! I can't wait to try one. Thank you for the tute!

OK, ladies, who is going to be first to jump in and make a start?

pick me pick me pick me!!!!!! oh wait, I have to find some supplies first, :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:

Your fabric covered box is just gorgeous. Thank you so much for
showing us how to make one! You did a wonderful job on the Tutorial.
Have always wanted to make one - now I will!

LL....I'll have to wait to make mine...it might make a great Valentines day gift box, don't you think?

That is sooooo cool, LL. It is definitely going on my list of "Want to Do" projects. It might be a good idea to do an "Active" thread one day (not until the new year, please!!) where everyone does it together while online so we could ask for help. Kinda like Cutie did with her mystery quilt.

Not sure how I would go about it, but I am willing to try, if anyone thinks they would need some help.

Thanks for posting the instructions for this tute. I think my granddaughter would love one.

So glad you like it Minda - I am still waiting for someone to post a pic of their box.

I had a couple of queries about how the box linings were done, with the pockets on three, and the elastic strips on the alternate three, so when I was making another box, this time for a friend, I took some extra pictures that I hope will make it easier to understand.

I always sew the ends of the elastic together. The original instructions said to just stick them, but I'm not sure if this is sufficient.

After that, I stitche the gathers to the box lining basic cover

I also machine embroidered a quilting design on the box lid fabric. I used some metallic threads, but they didn't show up that well, and ended up stitching the design three times over. On reflection, perhaps my choice of fabric didn't show the stitching off to its best advantage, but I know my friend will like it anyway.

The completed box lid, and with its box, and again, but open this time.