Embroidered Merry Mailbox

First, we will prepare the front, back, and bottom section of the mailbox. Cut a piece of the heavy weight fusible interfacing to 7 1/4 inch wide by 26 inches high. Then, lay a 7 inch diameter craft ring, plastic lid, or embroidery hoop at one short end of the interfacing. Now, trace the shape.

Cut around the shape you just drew. Then, fold the interfacing with the short ends aligned, trace the rounded shape onto the opposite end, and cut around the shape.

Lay the interfacing on top of a piece of the print cotton fabric with the fusible side of the interfacing facing the wrong side of the fabric. Leave a couple of inches of excess fabric around the edges of the interfacing. Press the interfacing with an iron (refer to the interfacing instructions for heat settings, etc.).

Trim the fabric leaving about 3/4 inch excess around the edges of the interfacing.

Cut 1/2 inch slits around the curved edges of the fabric about every inch.

Spray the wrong side of the fabric with temporary adhesive, wrap the edges of the fabric around, and press it in place.

Lay the assembled front/back/bottom piece onto the cardboard, trace the shape, and cut out the shape.

Measure 1/2 inch to the inside of the shape, draw lines connecting the marks, and cut out the shape along the inner line you just drew.o.

Spray the wrong side of the fabric piece with adhesive. Align the cardboard piece on top leaving equal space between the outer edges of the cardboard and the outer edges of the fabric piece, and press in place.

Measure 8 inches in from each end. Lay a ruler at each mark - position the ruler perpendicular with the fabric piece and then bend the cardboard and fabric creating a crease at each mark.

To add the inner lining, spray the cardboard side with adhesive and smooth the front/back/bottom piece onto a piece of the craft felt. Then, trim away the excess felt by cutting around the outer edge of the front/back/bottom piece.

To add the button loop closure, cut a piece of cord to 6 inches long. Bring the raw ends together to form a loop and tuck the raw ends in between the layers of fabric in the center of one of the curved ends of the front/back/bottom piece.

To finish this piece, sew a 1/4 inch seam around the entire outer edge of the shape.

To prepare the side/top section of the mailbox, cut a piece of the interfacing to 10 inches wide by 20 inches high.

Lay the interfacing on top of the sturdy fabric (we used upholstery fabric) and trace the shape. Then, trim around the shape you just drew leaving about one inch of excess fabric.

Create paper templates of the designs by printing them at full size using embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the designs to help with placement and centering.

Arrange the templates near the short ends of the fabric. We are placing the designs centered side to side and about 2 inches from the bottom edges of the fabric. Then, using an air-erase pen or other marking tool, poke holes in the center of the templates and mark the fabric. Also, mark the horizontal and vertical axis lines.

Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the axis marks. These lines will be used for hooping.

Spray a piece of medium weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric and embroider the design.

When the designs have finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside of the embroidery.

Align the interfacing, fusible side down, on the backside of the fabric. Then, flip it over and align the interfacing with the marked shape on the right side of the fabric. Then, flip it back over again and press the interfacing in place.

Spray the wrong side of the fabric with adhesive, wrap the edges of the fabric over, and press in place - pinch each corner up as you go. Then, trim off the fabric at each corner.

Spray the wrong side of the side/top piece with adhesive, smooth it on top of the craft felt, and trim away the excess felt by cutting around the shape. Then, sew a 1/4 inch seam around the entire outer edge of the side/top piece.

Now it is time to assemble the mailbox! Align the short ends of the top/side piece with the long edges of the front/back/bottom piece with the right sides facing out. Using a tapestry or crewel needle and thread, hand sew the pieces together where they meet. Then, align the back (the flap without the button loop) with the edges of the side/top piece and hand sew in place.

Shape and cut a length of the heavy gauge wire to the shape (sides and top) of the back of the mailbox.

Insert the wire just inside the front opening of the mailbox and tack in place by sewing a few stitches around the wire at the sides and top.

Close the front lid, lay the button loop on top of the mailbox, and mark the end of the loop. Then, sew a button at this mark.

To create the flag, draw a 1 inch wide by 5 inch long rectangle on the stiff felt. Then, draw or trace any shape you like off to one side of one of the ends of the rectangle. We drew a holly leaf for our flag.

Cut out the shape. You can add detail by sewing decorative stitches on the flag using your sewing machine. Add the flag to the mailbox by sewing a button at the end of the flag. We placed our flag about 1 1/2 inches from the end of the mailbox and about 5 inches from the bottom. Sew a stitch starting from the inside of the mailbox and through the end of the flag. Then, bring the thread through the button and back through again. Loop the thread around the back of the button a few times and then sew back through the flag and the side of the mailbox. This will allow the flag to be adjustable.

You can add embellishments like faux flowers, holly, or jingle bells. Simply hot glue or sew them in place.