{"id":1772,"date":"2022-05-17T09:39:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vintagelivingmodernlife.com\/?p=1772"},"modified":"2022-05-16T19:40:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T23:40:19","slug":"sew-a-storage-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vintagelivingmodernlife.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/17\/sew-a-storage-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Sew a Storage Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Long,
Make a pocket for door storage.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last winter I had a problem. I needed to sew a storage solution for cloth dinner napkins and other kitchen linens on their way to the washing machine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My washer and dryer are in the kitchen. This is exactly what I wanted when we moved to our house a few years ago, and it took a few houses to locate one with very accessible laundry. Unfortunately, that means that I have nowhere to store the normal soiled linens waiting to be laundered, like dish towels and dust cloths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also needed a place to store a set of reusable \u201cpaper\u201d towels. I love them. They are wonderful, easy to clean, and they work great for small projects like \u201coops! I just overwatered the cactus again. Grab me a paper towel, will you?\u201d However, they are not easy to store. I solved that problem by sewing a storage solution called a door pocket. You can see the happy perpetual paper towels peeking from their pocket in the picture below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Closeup
My cloth paper towel stash peeps at you from the top pocket.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Door Pockets in History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Door pockets have been around for a long time, well over 100 years. They became popular in the 1920s in small bungalows and apartments that afforded very little storage space. These homes usually provided a small pantry or cabinet door, and these became prime real estate for the door pocket storage rack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the Great Depression hit and many people barely managed to eat, much less afford supplies for decorating. But they did have access to outgrown clothing and flour sacks. And flour sacks make wonderful door pocket organizers. They\u2019re colorful, wash easily, and the happy prints brought a smile in the kitchen or wherever else they appeared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, sometimes a shopper ended up with one or two mismatched flour sacks. Each sack when opened created one yard of fabric. What could you do with one yard of fabric? You can cut it up and create quilt blocks. Another alternative is to make an organizational or household helper like one of these door pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Your Own<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Illustration
Visual instructions for your door pocket<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can sew a storage solution like a door pocket to fit your own needs. Sure, you can purchase a fabric over the door shoe rack (where do you think that idea came from?) but everything doesn\u2019t fit into a shoe-sized hole. The benefit to making your own is that the pockets fit the objects you need them to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, the instructions for these items told you to sew bone rings at the top and bottom of the completed pocket set and then hook them onto the inside of your door. That assumes that we all have hardwood pantry doors, which since the 1960s at least, most of us do not. In the United States at least, room doors are often made from a wooden framing and wood veneer. Hooks will not hold in the very thin wood layer that forms the large flat part of the door. If anyone or anything poked a hole in one of your plywood veneer doors, you know exactly what I mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modernizing the Instructions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of the rings and hooks, I purchased some over the door hooks from Amazon. Something like this may be available from your local hardware store as well. I sewed thin strips of fabric into sturdy straps. I folded them and cut them into lengths suitable for over the door hooks. If I were to make another one I would make the top loops much longer. Over the door hooks only hang a couple inches below the top of the door, and I am quite short. Reaching the perpetual paper towels proves to be a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make your own door pocket organizer, you will need a medium weight cotton fabric. The original diagram suggested chintz, which you can find in the drapery department of your local fabric store. It\u2019s a shiny cotton, usually with flowers on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When this design was originally published in the Thirties, fabric was sold in lengths that measured only 36 inches wide. Some fabrics, like woolens, were wider, but the majority of cottons appeared in the local store sewing departments at 36 inches. So a door organizer that measures 24 inches wide by 36 inches high would need 2 1\/2 yards of fabric. If your fabric measures 41-43 inches wide, you will still probably need about 2 1\/4 yards fabric. You may as well purchase the entire 2 1\/2 yards and make a matching potholder from the leftovers. If your pocket will be less than 24 inches, you will end up with extra fabric. Or you can use it to make matching binding instead of buying prepackaged bias tape. Everything is cut as one layer; nothing is lined in this organizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To make your own door organizer, you will need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n