DIY postcard boxes: manufacturing methods
A box of postcards with your own hands is not a new hobby. Our mothers and grandmothers were also engaged in needlework, creating all kinds of boxes from colored cards, which were carefully kept on the shelves of the sideboards. Previously, postcards could be found in every home, but some have preserved them even now. Currently, they are not so relevant (electronic mail has replaced regular mail), but nevertheless, you can find a huge number of bright and beautiful copies in printed matter stores. There are many schemes, thanks to which you can now create an unusual box and give a second life to stale postcards.
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It is interesting that the word "box" has Polish roots and in the language of the gentry means "chest". Such storage facilities for small items first appeared in the third millennium BC. In any case, the first mentions of the boxes were found by archaeologists on the territory of Egypt.
Caskets made of postcards have the same purpose - storing small items. Postcards allow you to create chests of different types, which depend on the technique of execution when creating them:
- rectangular or square;
- oval;
- volumetric.
It will be easiest for novice needlewomen to cope with the classic look of a cardboard box. And as experience is gained, it will be possible to tackle more complex types, such as the king-box.
Materials for work
For making crafts will be required:
- postcards;
- strong threads;
- scissors;
- awl or thick needle;
- ruler;
- pencil;
- Crochet hook.
The type of box depends on the material used. The tighter the card, the better the base of the box will hold. It is not necessary to use the same postcards for the box. It is enough to pick them up in the same color scheme.
Experienced needlewomen most often prefer to use floss as a thread. The color of this material does not fade, it has a homogeneous structure - it does not exfoliate or shaggy.
Step-by-step instruction
There are many options for making caskets and master classes on how to make a beautiful postcard box yourself. Consider the most popular schemes that outline the steps step by step.
Box
This is the simplest version of the postcard box. You will need the following tools and supplies:
- 12 postcards (important: 11 cards must be the same size, another larger postcard);
- scissors;
- glue;
- thread;
- awl;
- needle.
It is necessary to prepare the side parts of the future box and its bottom. To do this, you need to glue two postcards together with the pictures outward. After that, small holes are carefully drilled with an awl at the same distance from each other. To do this, we retreat from the edge of the postcards by 0.5 mm. You need to pierce from the side that will be the front part of the future casket.
After that, the edges are trimmed with threads. An overlock stitch is used.
You should get three rectangles. The remaining side two sides must be made square. The algorithm of actions is exactly the same.
For the cover, we cut a large postcard in length to a standard size, but leave its width with a so-called allowance - a few cm more. We connect the blanks together.
You need to collect the future box from the sides: carefully sew the parts together with a overcast seam through the existing holes. The bottom of the box joins in the same way. All that remains is to attach the cover.
To process the corners of the box, it is necessary to remove three stitches from one hole and arrange them according to the following scheme - one should fall out at an angle, two diverge in opposite directions.
Oval
Another attractive option for a homemade chest. It is a little more complicated in execution, but it looks more elegant.
The box will require the following materials and tools:
- 8 postcards;
- threads;
- needle;
- awl;
- scissors.
First you need to make a template. To do this, cut out an oval blank from one postcard. On it we make three more of the same details.
We connect oval postcards with the front part outward. We pierce the holes with an awl, stepping back from the edge by 0.5 mm and at an even distance between themselves. We sew all sides with a stitching seam with a needle.
Now you need to prepare the sides. For this, strips with a width of 2 to 5 cm are cut. The most important thing is that the total length is equal to twice the perimeter of the oval. It is advisable to comply with one requirement - the length of all strips must be the same. After that, it is necessary to sew the double-folded parts together and along the edges. As a result, you should get a ring-shaped blank.
Another part of the future box will be the legs. They are made in the following sizes: length - 3.5 cm, height -2 cm. For this, four parts are cut out, which are then folded in pairs. Postcards, as in other blanks, should be a picture outward. The resulting legs are sheathed around all edges around the perimeter.
After all the details are ready, you can start assembling the box. The sides are sewn to the base - this is one of the oval parts. Then it was time for the legs. We attach them with a loop seam to the narrow edge of the resulting oval box. It is important that the legs are positioned symmetrically in relation to each other.
After that, a cover is sewn to the resulting structure. To do this, it is enough to make a few stitches from the edge on one side of the box.
Casket
The most difficult to manufacture version of a box made of postcards. But all efforts are justified by the unusual type of man-made box. Only experienced needlewomen can do such boxes.
The box must be kept in the same color scheme, therefore identical cards are selected according to the picture or color type. Inside, it is desirable to make the casket monochromatic. You can use colored paper or a piece of wallpaper.
The casket must be strong. Experienced needlewomen advise using a spacer between postcards. It can be any thick paper or cardboard on which it is recommended to draw templates for the future box.
A set of consumables and tools:
- postcards;
- threads;
- needle;
- awl;
- scissors;
- PVA glue;
- compass.
The exact number of postcards is difficult to predict - better with a margin, since you will have to make a lot of templates.
An important part in the preparatory work is the manufacture of patterns. Using a compass, draw a circle on thick paper. It must be divided into 6 equal parts, and for this we put dots.
From the center of the circle, through the set points, draw straight lines 8 cm long each. We connect each segment with a ruler with straight lines to get a hexagon.
We cut out the resulting template and use it to make two more exactly the same parts. In total, you need three such parts.
After that we take the hexagon. We work with straight lines - we retreat from the edge by 1.5 cm and put a point on each segment. We connect the resulting points again. In general, you should get another hexagon, which is located inside the main one. It is necessary to cut out the middle - after that you will get the inner side of the future box.
We prepare the side part of the ellipsoid shape. Its dimensions are: height - 9.5 cm, width of the base and upper part - 8 cm, the widest part falls on the minor axis - 10 cm. You will need 6 such parts.
For the cover, you need to prepare 6 parts.First, we make one template - a concave cone with a base width of 8 cm, a height of 12 cm.
Important: all parts must be made of thick paper, since they will be used as cushioning material.
After that, you can start working with postcards. When cutting, it is necessary to select a pattern so that the overall appearance of the casket looks light and complete.
A part is cut out according to templates - you will need to make two pieces of each type. After gluing, each component part of the future box should consist of three parts:
- outdoor, from a postcard;
- medium - thick paper pad;
- internal.
After drying, PVA glue becomes invisible, which is definitely good if suddenly some part was stained.
If necessary, use scissors to correct irregularities. The main condition is that all the details must be the same.
The hardest part is over. It remains to collect the casket in one composition. We sew the edges - for this we retreat 0.5 mm. With the help of an awl, holes are made at an equal distance from each other. We pierce from the front.
We sew each detail with strong threads. A buttonhole stitch is used.
The assembly of the box begins with the side parts. Be sure to pay attention that the front part is a postcard.
Then the bottom of the box is sewn. A hollow hexagon is fixed on top.
The assembly of the lid begins with stitching a pyramid, to the base of which a hexagon is sewn. The resulting part is attached to one of the sides of the casket.
The inside of the box can be decorated with velvet paper. Some people prefer to divide the box into compartments in order to store different little things in each.
This is just a small part of the options for boxes made of postcards. In fact, there are several dozen of them. And taking into account the variety of postcards, each homemade box will look original.
How to make a box of postcards, see the video below.
Thanks. Very beautiful products! I remembered my mother, who, despite the household in an uncomfortable house, a large family, work, found time for needlework. I also managed to knit socks and mittens for everyone, sew curtains and sirloin stitch - bed linen and much more. They say about such "golden hands". She also made wonderful products like those shown in your photos. Only my mother still used a dense polymer film, probably from the images from fluorography and covered all the details from the front and back with this film on top. I sewed all three layers at the same time.
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