Try This: Shower Curtain Caddy

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Turn your old shower curtain into a functional bath tote. Photo Courtesy Sterling

The following is an excerpt from ReMake It! Recycling Projects from the Stuff You Usually Scrap by Tiffany Threadgould (Sterling, 2011). The excerpt is from Chapter 2: Fantastic Plastic. 

Shower Curtain Caddy 
Skill Level: Hard

Materials:

• 1 used, clean shower curtain
• scissors
• ruler
• washable marker
• binder clips
• straight pins
• sewing machine or needle and thread

Instructions:

1. Using a ruler, mark up your pieces on the shower curtain and cut them out. You’ll need two rectangles that are 13½ inches x 10 inches (body of the caddy), two rectangles that are 14 inches x 3 inches (handles), one rectangle that’s 12¾ inches x 5 inches (inside divider), and two or three rectangles that are 2 inches x 4½ inches (optional side tabs).

2. Cut a 3-inch square out of both bottom corners of the body pieces (see diagram a). These cuts will become “box corners” later in this project.

3. Fold each side of the handle pieces in ½ inch lengthwise. Then, fold each in half lengthwise. Clip both handle pieces together with binder clips or paper clips. Stitch a backstitch in a straight line ½ inch from the open edge (see diagram b). When you’re sewing on vinyl, use a wide stitch that is between ¹/₈ inch and ¼ inch wide. Vinyl is sewn a bit differently from fabric. If you’re using a sewing machine, sometimes you have to pull the vinyl through the machine, rather than letting the machine feed it through.

4. Hem the top of each body piece by ½ inch. Make sure the “wrong side,” that is, the side you don’t want to have as the outside of the bag, is facing toward you as you hem. Hem the top and bottom of the center divider piece by ½ inch (see diagram c).

5. Place one of the body pieces on a flat surface with the wrong side facing up. Place the divider piece on top of the body piece 1 inch down from the top. Center it from both edges and pin it in place. Measure the exact center point on the top of the body piece, and stitch a straight line down the center of the two pieces, sewing them together (see diagram d).

6. If you want small outer tabs on your caddy now is the time to hem and then sew them to the body of the shower caddy. Hem the top and bottom by ½ inch. Center the tab piece on the right side (outside) of the body piece. Sew the short ends to the body piece to make a larger strap that can hold a wide hairbrush (see diagram e). If you want your strap to hold smaller items like toothbrushes, just stitch another line down the middle of the strap.