STOP! DON'T TOSS THAT BOX!

It Can Be Recycled For A Quilt

by Debby Kratovil

With the price of breakfast cereal fast approaching the cost per pound of sirloin steak, I had to find a way to recoup the large amount of money I was losing each week to feed my hungry brood. Buying it on sale was one way. The other was to finish it to the last flake and beyond...all the way to the cardboard! No, that's not the way I get my fiber each day. That cardboard is perfectly good quilting material (not fabric, mind you). And by using it up I can squeeze more fabric out of my limited quilting dollar. Here are a few ideas for those cereal boxes and yes, even those detergent boxes, that will help you not only with creative quilting tools but help get you a bit more organized in your sewing room.

• When the cereal is gone, I dispose of the inner liner. I open up the bottom and then the side seam and flatten the whole box for storage. Some boxes are destined to become templates. I use freezer paper to trace templates and their markings from magazines and books. Then I use a warm iron to fuse the plastic coated side of the freezer paper to the non-printed side of the cereal box. Now it's ready to be cut out along the lines you traced onto the freezer paper. The freezer paper can remain on the cardboard or you can peel it off and copy the information onto the new template.

• I made an attic window quilt for my husband using golf scenes. I wanted to get just the right view for each window. My "window" opening needed to be 6 1/2". My 12" acrylic ruler was unwieldy due to its large size. I took the largest of my cereal boxes which measured 8" x 12" and cut a 7" square. Then I measured 1/4" in from all sides (for my seam allowance) and cut out a 6 1/2" window. Now I could move it over my fabric and capture just the right picture. I drew a cutting line on the fabric around the outside of my window template. Now I had just the right golf scenes to feature in each window!

• Some of these cereal boxes can be used to store blocks. Just lay them down horizontally and stack them so the open end faces out. They can be stacked several on top of each other. Just label the outside end with information that lets you know what's inside! And charm squares can go inside, too. Store them by color.

• I love the new way detergent boxes are made. I use all the sizes. I always did hate throwing them away, especially the large 85 and 120 load size (I have a family of 5 and do 15 loads of laundry a week). They have pop-up lids and always smell so clean and fresh. I converted one of these large ones to a scrap box which sits on my cutting table. Depending on the amount of scraps I have, I have had as many as 4 of these filled at one time! They are tall and the lids pop back for me to toss in a new scrap or extra strip. I never have to worry about losing the lid!

• What else can you do with the large size detergent boxes? They are wide enough to store your quilting magazines and catalogs upright. Cut the lid off. If you want, cover the box with wall paper or extra fabric. Put in your magazines and they will stand up straight without that characteristic magazine "sag". My brain and fabric purchases are always light years ahead of my sewing skills. So, to keep my projects in order I put the fabrics together inside a plastic bag and place in a detergent box to wait for when I'm ready to work on it. Of course, the 120 load size can really hold a LOT! I also use the larger sizes to carry fabric with me to a class. There is a handle attached which makes it so easy to transport.

• I use the smaller detergent boxes (15-25 load size) to: store yo-yo's and leaves and other embellishments I make awaiting a home in a new project; store templates and patterns; letters from charm traders that I need to answer; catch the threads and fabric snippets next to my sewing machine and my ironing board (I cut the box lid off of these).

• Oh, don't forget the oatmeal boxes! These wonderful cylinders are perfect for keeping my pencils, straight rulers, rotary cutter all together next to my sewing/cutting area. I store bits and pieces of projects in some, used fabric dryer sheets in others (I use them to self-face simple applique shapes before attaching to foundation fabric).

Well, if you're beginning to think that my sewing room resembles a grocery store, you're probably right. I have other types of food boxes which I've salvaged in order to keep my quilting and sewing supplies organized. Candy tins, clean pizza boxes, stationery boxes, anything goes... as long as it's clean and provides a cozy home for pieces of future quilts. Look around your home, your kitchen. Give a second life to an empty box. It just may be the key to keeping your quilting life from falling to pieces.

You are free to reprint this article for your enjoyment. I only ask that you include my name and e-mail address: Debby Kratovil (queenb@quilt.net.)

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