Bedside Book Caddy

Begin by removing the selvedge from your fabrics. Then iron your fabrics.

We’ll work on the pockets first. Fold the 1/4 yard of fabric in half. Pin along the short sides to keep the fabric from shifting during the next few steps.

You’ll need a package of extra wide, double fold bias tape for this project. We’re going to add this to one long side of the pocket. Unfold the tape, and line up one edge of it with the raw edge of your fabric. Pin in place. Snip off the end so it’s the same length as the fabric. Then sew together, directly on top of that first fold crease.

Remove the pins. Then, fold the tape over to the back of the fabric. You’re going to sew on top of the bias tape. Sew from the backside of the fabric, because if you sew on top, you might not catch the bias tape underneath.

Now we’ll work with the larger piece of fabric. Fold it in half as well. If it has a pattern, the pattern should be facing outward. Your pocket should be the same width as your background fabric. If one is slightly smaller due to differences in manufactured sizes, trim off the extra inch or so.

Lay the pocket piece on top of the background piece. Pin the sides in place to prevent shifting during the next step.

You can make the pockets whatever width you’d like. Consider what the pockets will hold… newspapers? Eyeglasses? A flashlight? It may be helpful to lay the items down on the fabric so you can decide where to add seams. Mark with pins or a fabric pen. Then sew down the length of the pocket, and remove the pins.

Now we’ll add bias tape to the other three sides– We won’t add it to the top. Sew the bottom edge first. Stop sewing about a half inch from the end of the fabric. Snip off the bias tape, leaving a tail of about 3 inches.

I sewed the bias tape onto the right side next. I lined up the edge of the bias tape with the top and cut it to the same length. I left a three-inch tail at the bottom by the pocket.

Finally, add the bias tape to the last side. You won’t need to leave a tail on this one.

Now to make the corners and tack down the tails. Fold the tail at a 90 degree angle and fit it on top of the sewn bias tape. Adjust the fabric so that you have a nice mitered corner. Pin in place.

You’ll also need to fold under the raw end of the tape. Pin that as well.

Now we’re going to finish the top edge. This part will actually be tucked under the mattress, so no one will see it. Still, we don’t want it to fray. Fold the top edge down on the back about a half inch. Press in place. Fold another half inch and press again. Sew down the center of the fold.

Finally, we’re going to add a little rubber shelf liner to the back. This will help keep the book caddy in place when it’s holding a lot of books. I found this roll at a dollar store. Cut a piece to cover the top third of your caddy. Hand sew it in place at the four corners.