Hi, it’s Cami from Tidbits. It’s good to be back!! I am here today to attempt to make one of life’s never-ending tasks, a little more stylish. Because I am sure if my hamper is more attractive, then doing laundry is bound to be more appealing. Right?! :)
First of all, I will take you into our wood shop (aka – messy garage) and with the help of my handy dandy husband, we will show you how easy it is to build the frame for this fold-able hamper. I’ve never personally worked with wood, but he makes it look so easy I think anyone could do it!!!
Then, you can come to my sewing room (aka – messy sewing room) and I’ll show you how to make a reversible bag for the hamper.
A reversible option is great for people like me, who sometimes crave a coastal cottage look.
But also find themselves dreaming of a farmhouse in France.
It’s like a hamper with dual personalities!! Actually, that pretty much sums up the style of our home as well. (See more of our home here). However, the one thing I know for sure . . . . the one thing I could never reverse . . . is my distaste for laundry.
So, if you too are in desperate need to find a way to make laundry more attractive, let us ignore all the clean clothes that need folding, and I’ll show you how to make your own hamper.
First to the wood shop!! (I do hope I make sense. Woodworking is a new world of tutorials for me.) Wood Supplies: You will need to buy 2 sticks of 1 inch x 2 inch x 8 feet of furring strip. My husband found these at Home Depot for about 2 bucks each!! You could even have them cut it to the measurements below while you are there. You’ll need: 4 long pieces measuring 34 inches. 2 short pieces measuring 13 1/2 inches. 2 short pieces measuring 12 inches.
Hardware Supplies: 2, #10 Bolts, 2 inches each (Green Package) 1, #10-24 Lock Nuts (Orange Package, there are two shown below but realized later you only need one package) 8, 1 5/8 Wood Screws. 4, #10 Washers (not pictured)
-Cami
I really think I might be able to do this, but being from the UK, can you explain what pellon is? Thanks!
Gorgeous! Pinning this. I have to do it, our laundry basket has given up the ghost with the arrival home from University of number one son and the most enormous pile of washing I have ever seen!
Wendy,
Pellon is a brand of interfacing. There is a brilliant equivalent chart here https://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/acatalog/Interfacings__fusibles_and_stabilisers_comparison_chart.html
Hey thanks for posting the link!! Very helpful! Isn’t it amazing how much laundry one child can add?!!!
Yes, the 3yo can wear the 7yo’s underwear for a couple of days. Been there, done that with a 4yo and 9yo :)
Ha Ha Ha!! Glad I am not the only one!!!
I have been looking for the perfect clothes hampers for a couple of months and here they are. The price of them in the stores are so not worth it. They are flimsy and ugly. I was actually thinking of making them out if PVC piping, but this is so much better. Thank you for this, it’s on my to do list, hopefully within the next couple weeks.
I was definitely inspired by the ones I’ve seen in the stores, but not so inspired by the price! You can make this project so thrifty and it is 10 times the quality. I am loving mine! Hope you get to making yours.
Thanks for the info and conversion chart Nicki…all that remains to be sorted is getting my lovely Husband to sort out the frame!
Such good husbands! I have rarely worked with power tools, but watching my husband do this, I really think I could handle it on my own . . . . if you get tired of waiting for your husband to have time I am sure you could make it! But then again, I really enjoy making stuff WITH my husband. And just in case you need more help with the pellon, it is simply a fabric thickener/stabilizer. You could make do without it but I found it squares off the bottom of the bag making it look a bit nicer.
ohhh, I need to make some of these!! Right now we’re using some cheapie IKEA hampers that have a similar construction, though theirs are cheap metal with a plastic bag that doesn’t remove. I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow evening that links to your tutorial:
https://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-foldable-wood-laundry-hamper-with-removable-fabric-bag/2014/06/25/
–Anne
Oooh, I love this, especially the detail of making it reversible. It looks like something I could totally pull off! Thank you for posting it :)
Cami, I love this! I have a frame but have needed the hamper for awhile. So now I know what I’ll be working on.
Thank you so much for the tutorial on this hamper. I just had a customer ask me if I could make her one and I remembered that it was only a week or so ago that you had sent instructions out.
What you are sending in the emails always sticks out in my memory as I know following the instructions will be easy and the end product will be great.
Thank you for what you do!
Love this and love the fabric and stain colors you chose!
This was a great option for me because I couldn’t find the hamper that I wanted. The directions were really clear on building the frame. I am not a sewer, so my MIL is making the fabric part for me. The only suggestion I have is to use #6 2in screws. The #10 was too hard for me to drill into the wood (could have been the wood I used) and kept stripping the wood screw even with the drill holes. Once I changed the screw size, it took no time at all! I built this in about an hour. All I have to do is paint. I can’t wait to see the end result!! Thanks for the awesome tutorial!!
My daughter sent me the link cause she wants me to make one for her. I have never used a drill before and my sewing skills are very elementary, but your directions were so clear that I think I just might try it. Thanks for the great idea and wonderful tutorial.
Thanks for this great hamper! Trying out your instructions at the moment :)
I am wondering how you did the blue stripes on the fabric because they are slightly transparent and have this particular pattern (different to those in your pastry cloth tutorial).
What are the final dimensions? Does the laundry poof out the sides a bit and make it wider when full. We have a limited space…
Is the bolt size #10 or #10-24? I see the lock nuts are #10-24 but I don’t see them fitting #10 bolts correctly.
I just recently followed this blog to the word! I know nothing about the sizes, but yes….they work! The bolts are #10….the lock nuts are #10-24. Good Luck!
Thank you for this blog! I built mine and love it! I sooooo wish I could share a picture! It’s perfect! Now, I’m off to make three more!!!!!
What are the finished dimensions of the hamper?
thanks for this! the three little kiddles and i made 2 of these today! they were able to do so much of the work themselves. we had so much fun. thank you for the lovely tut! i love your whitewashed walnut stain!
OMG! I love these. There was another one that i liked but the tutorial literally went into how to make the frame like you have done, then had a 3d picture drawn of the measurements of the laundry sack that said “these are the finish measurements, add seam allowance” then skipped all the way to attaching the sack to the frame. Approximately how tall are these? I’m thinking about making 4 of them for our closet in coordinating colors for whites, darks, jeans, towels…ect. Thank you! Pining it for later.
Okay. Here’s the deal. I made one for the whites. I did modify it for a 13″ X 13″ square bag and it nestles right in between the connecting 12″ and 13 1/2″ piece. So my measurements may be different, but here is what i had for the Overall Measurements…
20 1/2″ w X 28 3/4″ h X 15″ D
I made this! I don’t know how to post pics on here but I love it! I was worried about it being too small (I also have a lot of laundry) so I made it 25 instead of 24 and 10 instead of 9 and it still fits great in the frame! I also used canvas fabric that I had custom printed at Spoonflower to add a unique touch. Thanks for the tutorial!
Just made one!! Thank you so much for the tutorial… I normally put dirty laundry in a basket, but our dogs have been getting into that and spreading our clothes out all over the floor as a dog bed the last couple days 😂 Hopefully this hamper will help them realize that their actual dog beds are a pretty comfy alternative!!