Upcycled Bed Caddy

On Saturday morning, a lady I work with gave me an enormous bag of curtain swatches. Ohh, so many upcycling opportunities! I think each swatch probably measures about 60cm x 60cm.

So, after I returned from a fun, yet slightly stressful afternoon at the school fete, I decided I needed a bit of 'making stuff' therapy. I put 4 swatches to good use and whipped up this bed caddy for my husband. With very little thought (perhaps not enough) it was all over and done with in an hour.

Overall, it's not too bad. I did make a few mistakes though. Firsty, the small pockets at the front are a bit too shallow to store the ipod and torch effectively. Also, the back pocket was supposed to be able to store a magazine but I forgot to sew the base piece down which meant the pocket was too deep. To solve this problem, I sewed it down with a seam that ran just above the second row of pockets - unfortunately this meant the pocket was now too shallow and too wide to support a novel, so I had to sew a seam vertically through the middle.

In summary, now instead of holding 2 novels and 1 magazine, it can hold 4 novels. Not bad for a first, rushed, unplanned attempt. I know I'll have a better go next time - if there is a next time!

The bag is held in place with a wide strip of fabric held between the mattress and the bed frame. I sewed some non-slip matting to this to stop it moving.