How to Repair a Fabric Storage Box

6 Materials
$5
30 Minutes
Medium

Have a fabric storage box that has seen better days?

My fabric boxes started out housing my kids' toys when they were toddlers. Now, 10 years later, they are definitely showing some wear.

If you like to restore things, rather than add them to the land fill, take a look at this DIY project.

Step 1: Restore the fabric

Use a fabric shaver to shave off any clumps and pills.

2) Reinforce the box

Use a craft knife to cut a slit in the top fabric of the box, large enough to pull out any old paper insert material.

DON'T CUT THROUGH BOTH SIDES.

Just cut deep enough to get through the inside layer.

This is what my paper insert looked like.

As an optional step:

Bend an old wire hanger into a square and slide that into the opening you cut. This will make your box a lot stronger.

Cut new poster board inserts and slide them into your opening in the box.

You will have to cut an insert for each side of the handle if your box has them.

3) Cover the Hole

Use a hot glue gun and glue the slit shut. Then glue a ribbon over it to make it look finished and nice.

It made a huge difference in how my boxes function and for just a little effort, I was able to reuse them in my boys' video game themed bedroom.

As you can see, there is a huge improvement and the box has a lot of life left in it for more years of storage.

To see more pictures and get more in depth steps, take a look at my blog post How to Repair Fabric Storage Boxes

Resources for this project:
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Practical Whimsy Designs - Erin
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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4 of 5 comments
  • Janet Trippe Janet Trippe on Jun 22, 2022

    Really cool that You found a way to restore the storage cube rather than tossing it. Looks good!

  • Dorcas Wright Berthold Dorcas Wright Berthold on Jun 29, 2022

    I love the make over! I wanted to share that I’ve removed pills on the outside before and spray painted them a different color. This stiffens the material and it takes a lot of spray paint to get them even. I was going to try a paint brush next. I’ve done the handles in a different color with a brush.

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