Hanging Bedside Organizer

I love crafting with felt! I found inspiration for this project while searching in the dollar bins at Target. There was a cheesy cheapo version for sale & I immediately thought, "I can do this! Only WAY cuter!"

To make this handy-dandy little organizer, you'll need felt, scissors, & a sewing machine. Pinking shears are optional. And, though I didn't use any in this tutorial, you could completely make this project "no-sew" by using some fabric glue.

The first thing you'll need to do is measure how long you want your organizer to hang. Ultimately this will slide right between your box spring & your mattress. So, measure from your box spring down.

I chose to have about 11" hang down. Add 18" to whatever measurement you have. (The 18" is what will slip between the box spring & mattress.) My final piece of felt measures 29" x 11".

I traced a scallop design on the edges & then cut it out. I didn't create the scalloped edges all the way up---since 18" of the piece of felt will not even show.

Next I cut out different shapes for the pockets. There are 4 pockets total.

I tried making this easy by labeling the pieces with letters---from biggest to smallest. The largest piece, "A", is the main felt piece that all the other felt pockets will be sewn onto.

"B"--measures 8 1/4" wide x 6 1/4" tall

"C"--measures 4 1/2" wide x 5 1/4" tall

"D"--measures 8 1/4" wide x 2 3/4" tall

"E"--measures 2 3/4" wide x 3 1/4" tall

Once you have your pocket designs laid out, sew the embellishment onto each of the individual pockets:

Now, sew the finished smaller pockets onto the larger pockets:

These pieces will now be sewn onto the largest scalloped felt piece. Pin & sew them in place. Remember to keep the tops of the pouches open. You know, for the whole "pocket" effect to work. I also added 3 vintage button embellishments before this largest pocket was sewn on.

Now you're ready to slide the excess under your mattress. Fill the pockets with a diary, pencils, a small flashlight, a favorite toy, a love letter, a dream journal, etc. My 6 year old adored this one I made for her!

Here is another version that is more simple. Cut a large piece of felt approximately 29-30" long & 14 1/2" wide. Cut 9 pieces of smaller felt 4" wide x 3" high. Use pinking shears on the sides & bottom.

Pazely & I picked out a rainbow of felt. She had fun helping me find matching buttons in my stash of vintage buttons.

After sewing on each button, pin the felt pockets in place onto your large felt piece.

I took a more time consuming route & even matched the thread in my sewing machine to the felt & buttons.

Once finished, it'll look something like this:

Pazely loves all things tiny, so that's why I made her organizer with a bunch of smaller pockets. Kids could help make this version in a snap---with the fabric glue.

Have fun!

1 Hanger 3 Ways Tutorial

This tutorial will be a little bit different than my usual tutes. Rather than show you the supplies used & give pictorial steps along the way, I'm mostly just gonna TELL you how to make 'em. Why? Because I made these a couple years ago. I realized the other day how truly handy they are & thought I'd share. I use mine all the time.
The first thing you'll do is get your basic wooden hanger & paint it up in your favorite color. After painting, I distressed mine with a bit of sandpaper & smeared stain on it to give that "aged" appearance. After applying some flowers found from scrapbook paper, (using mod-podge--a decoupage medium) I finished it off with some furniture wax.

The opportunities are endless as far as embellishments. You could paint a design, use stickers, etc. The little ribbon trim at the top adds a sweet touch. And that's it! (These 3 pair are what's left from a batch of hangers sold 2 years ago, & still available for purchase if anyone is interested! Is that totally tacky to say in the middle of a tutorial? Who cares. It's my blog. I can do what I want. HAHA!)

Hanger #2: Clippie Keeper

I have this hanging in my girls bathroom---at just the right height for them to grab some clippies or bobbies for their hair in the morning.

Simply cut 4 equal lengths of ribbon (or more, depending on how wide your ribbon is & how many clippies you want to hang). The ideal width is 1- 1 1/4". Make sure the ribbon is not too wide so that your clippie doesn't clip around it. (These bobbies are from Little Daisy Chains. The alien one is my fave!)

Here is a backside view so you can see how I attached the ribbon to itself with hot glue.

Hanger #3: Belt Organizer

This one takes a little bit more time but it's well worth the effort! My hubby has always had his very own belt organizer. You know, a real manly one. I didn't want a manly one. I wanted a cute one. I never could find one. So I made my own!

Drill small holes, equal lengths apart, along the bottom rod of your hanger. Try not to drill all the way through. If you do, no biggie. Screw "cup hooks" into the pre-drilled holes.

Hang your belts & you're good to go!

Happy hanger-ing!