Juice Pouch Trash Can

Second bathroom project done! Yeah, I could have just made a square basket and had it done a lot sooner but what fun would that have been. I wanted something with a little more design worked into it and sewing straight pouches together doesn't do it. I also wanted to add some reinforcement to the sides to make them more sturdy so that the sides would not fall in on each other.

My solution was to use a technique that I have done before by sewing two pouches together from one corner at a 45 degree angle so that when they are opened a square is made in the center. I choose to use Kool-Aid Jammer juice pouches because of the solid bright colors and because the iconic kids drink brings a since of novelty to the finished project. The extra juice pouch at the seam helps to make it more sturdy and the squares on one side with the 45 degree angle meeting on the other side makes a really fun and interesting pattern.

My initial thought was that the angled part on the right side of the juice pouches would be the outside of the basket but after seeing the square design on the wrong side of the pouches I decided I liked that better. I like it when it isn't obvious that something is made out of juice pouches but the pouches are still recognizable. In this case the outside of the basket will have people looking twice asking what is that and the inside of the basket will be a dead give away with the Kool-Aid man smiling back at you.

The bottom of the basket was a challenge to put in. I wanted a round basket but juice pouches do not lend themselves to making round shapes. I cut a circle out of a sheet of sewn together juice pouches the same circumference as the cylinder for the sides. I cut tabs around the bottom of the cylinder and folded them inward.

Then I placed the circle on the inside and sewed it to the tabs. It took me a few time to get it right and I'm still not completely pleased with it but now that I know the best way to make it work the next one will be better. The bottom line is, I ended up with the cylindrical shape that I wanted and it looks fabulous.

Now that I have the waste basket done I think I have to go for the shower curtain. I figured out that the shower curtain is going to take over 200 pouches. Wish me luck.