Organize shoes better with pockets.
Dress shoes are bulky items that take up an excessive amount of space on closet floors that could be used for other storage gear. A fabric shoe organizer hung from the closet bar can hold eight pairs of the daily worn shoes while the fancy shoes for special occasions can go in a storage box until needed. Create a simply made cloth shoe holder yourself with your choice of corresponding fabrics and ribbon or lace accents. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cut 2 1/2 yards of the main fabric into two sections measuring 37-by-10-inches.
2. Cut 1 yard of the corresponding fabric into eight 9-by-4-inch rectangles and one 2-by-4-inch rectangle.
3. Lay one 37-by-10-inch piece the main fabric on the worktable in front of you width-wise right side up. The right side is the side of the fabric that will show on the finished product. When you are looking at the fabric, it is positioned in the way it will hang in the closet with a 10-inch edge as the top.
4. Fold the edges of the eight pieces of the corresponding fabric in 1/4 inch. Sew these edges with a sewing machine and thread at the 1/4-inch edge all around each rectangle. These eight pieces will become the shoe pockets in the organizer.
5. Set the eight pockets on the main fabric in two centered rows with 1/2-inch space between the two rows. Place the first set of the pockets one inch from the top positioned so the 4-inch sides are the pocket top and bottom. Set the remaining sets of the pockets one inch below the set above it. This will leave 1 1/2 inches between the bottom of the last set of pockets and the bottom of the organizer.
6. Pin the bottoms of the pockets to the position in which they are set. Move the top corners of the sides in 1/2-inch each and pin these pocket corners to the main fabric keeping the edges taut. Sew each pocket bottom and side with thread. The top of the pockets will poke out one inch to allow for the shoes to rest.
7. Place the two 37-by-10-inch main fabric pieces together with the right side of each piece facing in. Fold the two long sides and one 10-inch side 1/2-inch in and pin the edges, leaving a 10-inch side open.
8. Sew the three edges along the 1/2-inch fold. Reverse the stitch, which means sew back over the stitch in the opposite direction, to reinforce the stitch. Turn the main fabric section right side out.
9. Slide a 3-foot-by-9-inch piece of unbent cardboard into the main fabric section. Fold and pin the open side of the main fabric section. Sew the edge closed. (ref 2)
10. Fold the 2-by-4-inch piece of corresponding fabric, with the right side of the fabric on the outside, in half lengthwise. Sew the edges.
11. Sew one part of a Velcro square to 1-inch from the right of the center top of the shoe organizer and the other part of the Velcro square to one end of the 4-inch corresponding fabric with three or four passes o the sewing machine to reinforce the stitch.
12. Pin the unadorned end of the 4-inch corresponding fabric piece two inches to the left of the Velcro end. Sew the end to the top of the organizer with three or four passes of the sewing machine to reinforce the stitch. The 4-inch handle holds the organizer over the closet bar.
Tags: main fabric, corresponding fabric, right side, fabric section, main fabric section, reinforce stitch, sewing machine