Not a bag or spreadcloth--a soft 'box'

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

HudsonGray	11 Feb 2004
I've been thinking about making a sort of soft sculptured 'box' for my deck, out of fabric & decorated with beads and such. I guess it would be considered soft sculpture in a way. I've seen similar things on art sites where they stiffen the sides with cardboard or plastic, and the structure does have definition (mostly it's on art doll sites), then embellished heavily with decoration. The 'walls' get stuffed slightly for added bulk, but the hows & tips to doing this never seems to get talked about online. But I've decided to make one or two--sort of like little 'houses' for one of my decks. It'll be large enough to fold up around the boxed deck, with a front fold down piece and top section that folds together into a peak, then tied with ribbon to keep it closed. Hard to describe actually...but I figure the bottom & 3 sides will all be sewn together, and the top section will be triangles that fold together with rings at the top that a ribbon ties through. Then once untied, the whole front panel can fold out since it's only attached at the 'floor'. It seems workable, and sort of neat! Large enough to hold a deck inside, and with decoration all around the top with beads, ribbons, or whatever I think will go there & blend it together color-wise. If it works out, I'll post a picture up. I wonder if these would be sellable? Hmm...maybe ebay. IF they work out! I like the idea of something that could sit on the bookshelf and be decorative as well as functional.

Imagemaker	11 Feb 2004
Sounds very cool! I used to make padded boxes where the inside of each side was cardboard covered by quilt batting. They came out puffy and soft, but had shape.

cricket	11 Feb 2004
It would also be possible to use the cardboard and batting to give the box more rigid sides, but they wouldn't necessarily have to be all sewn together. If the top flaps were attached to one end of the four sides, and the sides attached to the bottom but not each other, when it's unfolded it would make sort of a 't' shape, and might be easier to make.

HudsonGray	11 Feb 2004
I tried a mockup tonight. The bottom was hand attached, and I put beading up all the sides. It poofed up bigger than I thought (cantelope size) and got smaller inside than I wanted, the deck barely fits. Still, it's ... um.... interesting? I decided to add 3D beadwork (little stems of 5 beads sticking up) all over the top folds for added texture & might put larger beads down the front. Not sure I want to do another one though! I used cardboard in the bottom and side panels, and left the 'roof' soft, sticking fiberfill into the tops and only on one side of the cardboard. Ah well, it was an experiment, after all.

Imagemaker	12 Feb 2004
"Store your cards in a cantelope"--well, it's Original! LOL

Astra	12 Feb 2004
I did something like this a couple of dozen years ago - actually a fine yarn cross stitch design on fine canvas, folded and stitched to a box. A running design of five pointed stars in spectral colors around the sides, a stylized unicorn/landscape on the bottom, and a star and crescent moon on the top. Just pulled it out to take a look at it, and it's still holding up fine. All that yarn stiffens the canvas very nicely to keep it more or less flat. I will say that I sized it to fit a standard box, rather than a plain deck, because I thought the added protection would be handy. Never did another one - 40 hours of fine needlework was too much, even if it is beautiful. Something I thought about trying, back then, but couldn't get up the enthusiasm for - there used to be a medium weight plastic that was sold in cross-stitch kits and sometimes by itself that I thought might work for a soft box that was stiff enough to really protect a deck. Don't even know if it's still sold, but I'm guessing that it is, and something like that could be slipped into pockets of material and then sewn in, if you didn't want to actually do the work of the cross stitch. Or, even better, if you sold the pieces, the yarn, and the patterns and let people build their own?

Thea Lynx	12 Feb 2004
HudsonGray, Your idea sounds wonderful. I now have somewhere around 43 decks and keep them all in one large box - and many times I feel I am not taking proper care of them - each in its own little cardboard container within the big box - doesn't seem quite right to me. I can picture each deck in one of your little "boxes" nestled in a larger "box" all comfy and happy. A person I have met in another Tarot chat group said "If you take care of your deck, your deck will take care of you" and I wish to give my decks the best care possible. I guess that means I'd be buying a whole bunch of your "boxes" if you do decide to go commercial. Thea Lynx

Phoenyx*	12 Feb 2004
I've been thinking about making something similar, since keeping my decks in their original boxes seems so....bland. I've got alot of yarn that is just sitting around not doing anything, I could try something with that.

Jeanette	12 Feb 2004
This idea sounds so cool! Maybe you could try using fusible web to adhere your fabric to cardboard? I love doing projects like this, they're so fun and when you're done it's so personal. Although, sometimes you have to go through a few tries to get the "bugs" worked out. They also have fusible batting - I destroy my irons with all the fusibles on the market, but they make some jobs so much easier. Let us know how the next attempt comes out!

Aoife	12 Feb 2004
I use the heaviest weight [pelmet] vilene to make journal covers. I think that, rather than cardboard, could make a semi-soft box. It has the advantage of being able to be machined, painted and embellished.....or it could be used as an internal stiffener, covered with wadding and external fabric. Great idea HudsonGray!

lunalafey	12 Feb 2004
You have given me something new to work on. I saw this thread before but wanted to think about design before posting. I think I know how a box canbe easily made.I'm going to give it a try and let you know howit went.....hmm, what deck should I box?

HudsonGray	13 Feb 2004
Make it bigger than you think you'll need to, I allowed an extra half inch & it barely fits inside. I guess it's not bad, actually. I didn't need the 'fold down' front panel, the open top would have been the right size to put the deck in. I just don't know how it got so ROUND! I used a mottled brown/tan fabric with black lines meandering through in the print. And didn't use too much stuffing, I thought. But the finished box is a lot more bulky than I needed. The beads do look good on it though. I used clear, black and amber colored ones on the top, and the sides have metallic gold beads dotting all the way up each edge.

de stijl	13 Feb 2004
I have just started making boxes for my decks too. I get small cardboard boxes for mailing (ones my cards can fit in with some room to spare). I gesso the outside (gesso is a basecoat of acrylic paint, you can get it at any artstore) I do 2 or three layers then sand it down a little so it's smooth. Then I paint the box with acrylic paints (acrylic, a plastic, makes the box sturdier) then I line the bottom part of the box with felt and voila, a nice box for keeping my cards in. It's a pretty easy project and it looks nice.

lunalafey	13 Feb 2004
OK- I did it~!!! I hope I can explain how I made the box clear enough so that anyone who wants to give it a go will have something to follow. The box I made is a cigar style box. I took some cardboard that is not quite as thick as packing boxes- but thicker than the one layer pressed card board. {A} I put the deck flat on the card board and outlined it a 1/4 of an inch larger, cut it out. {B}then I put the deck on it's side- did the same thing. {C}stood it up, same thing. I cut these out so I had two of each. {D} Then I cut a piece that is just as long as 'B' but half as tall- for the over-flap. I took cotton batting and cut- 3 'A' pieces, 4 'B', 4 'C', and one for the flap. I used a very very thin layer of tacky-craft glue and glued the batting onto the card board. One a piece has batting on one side only, this was the bottom of the box- batting is on the inside. The flap also has one side with batting only, the padded side will be on the outside. Next I spread out my fabric, I used one with petroglyphs {outside} and the other has wolves {inside} I put the printed side of the fabric together & pinned two edges (like an L in the corner) ~~ If you are using a fabric that has a pattern that has a top and a bottom, like clouds, or wildlife scenes- you will need to put the outside fabric up-side-down in relation to your inside fabric. The inside fabric- place it up & down in relation to the box pattern, so the top, is at the top, and the other fabric has the bottom (of scene) at the top (of the box-pattern). pattern pieces put like this for box shape ~~~top~~~ ----------- .----D----. .----A----. .----B----. --C-A-C-- .----B----. ----------- the dashes & what not is the fabric. I put the edges of my cardb. a good 1/2 inch from the fabric's edge {seam allowance}- except for the 'D' ~top~, where I gave an inch. The box pieces I put 1/8 of an inch apart from eachother. I took a fabric pencil and outlined the whole pattern; along that 1/2 inch seam allowance and the extra inch at the top. I also drew in lines in between the pattern pieces, but this is not neccisary. I cut around the outline and had a fat up-side-down cross. I pinned these two pieces together, except for the top(fabric design face to face) then stitched all along the edge- 1/2 inch seam- I did not stitch top. Then I trimmed off little trianges at the end corners -both ends at 'C' and at the bottom of the lower 'B'- leaving a little over 1/8 inch from the seam. then I cut the interior corners that surround the lower 'A'....it was just a straight- diagonal cut from the 90d. point along the fabrics edge to the same 90d. point of the seam, again I cut to about 1/8 from the seam.....hmm...hope you got that... I took the whole thing and turned it right side out....AH...:) I took a 'B' piece and slipped it down all the way to the bottom, smoothed everything out {seams on the inside}, then I put both 'C' pieces in thier place- the 'wings' on the side, then I took the 'A' piece that has only one side of batting and put the batting side under the wolf fabric, and the bare side on the petroglyphs. I then adjusted the pieces in the box 'sock' into thier permanant positions, leaving about 1/8 of an inch in between- like when I first put them down on the fabric to outline them. I then stitched in between the 'B' & 'A' pieces and the two 'C-A-C' wings. Then the next 'B' piece goes into the sock, and the next 'A' piece- stitch between all new pieces- then the flap piece goes in, this time the smooth bare side was on the wolf side and the batting was on the Petroglyphs side. I stitched between these last two pieces. Now- this is the hard part to explain, but if you sew lots, you'll know what I mean, for those who are new- I will do my best to explain, the main thing to remember is that you want to hide all your rough edges and leave enough room to stitch. ok I took the open top end of the 'sock' and folded the edges down inside itself- fold it down just enough that the edge of the cardb. flap part and the folded top edge of the fabrics has a 1/4 inch space between- stitch 1/8 inch from the folded fabric end....getting closer.... I then took a needle & thread {machined all the above- but can be done by hand as well}- I put lower 'B' piece and left 'C' piece edges together and hand-stitched the corner, being sure to tuck the inside fabric from view. I did a very small suture style stitches all the way up. Then I put the other 'C' side up- stitched it, brought the rest of the box all the way over and stitched both back corners. WHA-LA!!! oh- a closing device....there are several ways to do this. Some are easier than others...some will have to be done before the two pieces are sewn together. The box I made will have {have to make them first} 2 antler bone buttons sewn onto the front {lower} 'B' piece. I won't have to stitch, but can, through the cardb. I can just sew the buttons onto the fabric only. (not sure what I'm going to do- prob. all the way through the cardb.) I made two loops that come off of the flap. I did this by cutting two pieces that where 1 inch x 2 1/2, folded each in half, long ways {inside-out, fabric design face to face} and then stitched down the center, I also stitched one end. I took a straght piece of wire hanger (or shish-kabob stick is better- make sure the end of the wire does not have sharp edges, small piece of tape or file it smooth) I took the 'stick' and put it at the stitched end, worked the fabric into a tube shape around the stick and then turned the piece right side out by sliding the stick with/and the end of the piece through itself...umm...hope you got that.....another way to do this- once your piece is stitched, take a bigger needle, double up your thread, knot the end, put the needle through one layer of fabric at the stitched end- let the needle slide out the open end, pull the needle & thread, the stitched end should go inside itself and come out the other end all turned right side out. I put the two ends of the piece together, forming a loop. I put the end under{inside} the flap, I hid the open rough edge under the clean stitched end of the loop piece and the flap. I positioned the edge of the loop so that there was about a 1/4 inch of the end over the closing seam on the flap, then I stitched the loop inplace following along the closing seam line of the flap.... WHA-LA!!! more thoughts on closures, taking some magnets and glue them in the right places, so they match up- on the batting of the lower 'B' piece- and on the smooth side of the flap. Velcro-- but I hesitate, for this would mean pushing & pulling on the box, and that would wear it out- so no snaps. If you want to make a box that is opened from a different end, use the same pieces, but rearrange them accordingly like the box cards come in- .----D----. .----C----. .----A----. .----C----. --B-A-B--

Phoenyx*	13 Feb 2004
Today I found some beautiful satin tablerunners are the dollar store that I'm going to use to make some bags. As for making drawstrings, I got an idea that perhaps using yarn and a cross-stitching needle might work as well. Anyone did that?

Jeanette	13 Feb 2004
I have tried yarn for various things like this (drawstrings) and I have found that something made of rayon works better (it's slipperier). You can usually get rayon cord in home dec. departments at sewing stores, and craft stores usually sell a very thin rayon (almost a thick string, I forget what it's called) and it comes in a lot of colors. I've found it around the ribbons. Plus, if you want tassels on the end of your drawstrings, a lot of home dec. stuff comes coordinated (Wright's is a pretty popular line). Oooh, I can't wait to try this......

HudsonGray	13 Feb 2004
Look for something called 'rat tail' cording. It's got a cotton center with silk (polyester) wrapped around the outside. It's 3 feet for 79 cents at craft stores, and comes in at least 35 different colors. Fabric stores have the same thing, but charge by the yard, usually $1.49 per yard. There's two thicknesses, but either one would work. The stuff is slippery, can be tied in a knot at the end, and you can slip beads up onto it to decorate the area above the knot.

lunalafey	13 Feb 2004
rayon/rattail cord. this stuff is slippery- if you don't put a good tight solid knot in it- it will come undone. Don't use a square knot with this stuff! I suggest taking both ends and making a hitch-knot, just loop it and put the end through, and pull tight. anyone wanting to know how to make tassles- I can explain that...

Jeanette	13 Feb 2004
Yes, RAT TAIL is the stuff I was thinking of! I just couldn't remember what it's called.... I've found it's pretty nice to work with (but slippery ~ definitely watch the knots). And tassels are just so cool, and a long time ago there was a thread about tassels being sacred, and their symbolism, but I can't find it just now.... I think I even started it!

The Not a bag or spreadcloth--a soft 'box' thread was originally posted on 11 Feb 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.