How to make a storage box cover

1. Materials & tools

Materials (standard size)

• Main fabric (linen, canvas or heavy cotton) — about 110 cm wide × 100 cm
• Optional: elastic for the hem
• Optional: fusible interfacing (if you want the top to stay crisp)

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Home” → “Storage box cover” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter the box width, depth, the height you want covered, and the ease. Presets cover small, standard and cube-shelf sizes.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Measure the box
   Measure the width, depth and the height you want covered. Without ease the cover will not go on — use the ease from the preset as it is.
2. Check the cut sizes
   Everything is a rectangle, so rather than printing the pattern, rule the measurements from the guide sheet straight onto the fabric.
3. Cut the pieces
   Cut 1 top, 2 sides (front and back) and 2 sides (left and right) — 5 pieces in all.
4. Finish the edges
   Zigzag the seam allowances.

4. Sewing

4-1. Join the sides into a ring

1. Sew the four sides together right sides together in the order front → right → back → left, forming a ring.
2. The last seam is awkward because the fabric is now a loop. Slide it onto the free arm of the machine and go slowly.
3. Press the seam allowances open.

4-2. Attach the top

1. Place the top on the upper edge of the ring, right sides together.
2. Pin the four corners first, then pin evenly between them. Getting the corners right is what decides how the cover looks.
3. Sew all the way round. At each corner, stop with the needle down, lift the presser foot, pivot the fabric 90° and carry on.
4. Trim the corner seam allowances diagonally.

4-3. Hem the bottom

1. Double-fold the hem by 1 cm and then 2 cm, and stitch.
2. If you are adding elastic, leave a 3 cm gap for threading.

4-4. Fit it over the box

1. Thread the elastic if you are using it, overlap and stitch the ends, then close the gap.
2. Turn right side out and fit the cover over the box, checking that the elastic catches under the base.

✏️ The one thing that matters is matching the corners when you attach the top. Pin the four corners so the side seams land exactly on the four corners of the top, then fill in between. Get that wrong and the whole cover sits twisted on the box.

5. Tips & variations

• Cut directly: with nothing but rectangles, a ruler is faster and more accurate than taping A4 sheets together.
• Interface the top: if the top sinks in the middle, fusible interfacing gives it body.
• Add a pull tab: a fabric loop on the front makes the box easy to pull off a shelf.