Storage Table Tutorial

Make an table that stores your fabric.
Several years ago, before the studio came about, every scrap of fabric had to be scrutinized and considered carefully before being put away or kept.  What quilter wants to toss out scraps?  Certainly not this one!  I just had to get creative in storing them.  A trip to my favorite dollar store yielded a couple of clothes hampers.

Because I didn't have end tables in our spare bedroom, I decided to use the hampers for storage and tables.

This photo is of the hamper filled with fabric.  Notice that the cover is rounded and would not work as a table.  To remedy that, I turned the lid over and found that it fit into the hamper just fine.

I then brought the lid out to the shed and had Richard cut a scrap piece of plywood so that it just fits inside the lid.  We used the lid as a pattern: simply drew the circle shape on the plywood and cut just inside the line.

Once back inside, I dropped the lid down into the hamper, where it sits tightly.  This was important to me since I have grandchildren who sleep and play in the room and need the table to be sturdy.

I found a fairly decent oval table cloth at the dollar store while there and picked it up, also.  Since it is sized for a dinner table the cloth is much too big, but I cut it in half right down the center and played a bit to get it to look as though it fits correctly.

The lace toppers are a pair that I had but never used.  I like the look and it distracts from the tablecloth.  Normally I have a lamp, a couple of books and hand lotion on one table.  On the other, which is near the baby bed, I keep a few baby toys, a basket of baby oil, shampoo and such, and a photograph.  Not too bad for an end table, don't you think?  The best part is that the hamper holds lots of fabric scraps, serves two purposes and is easy to get to.