I made my first hat box from a kit when I was in high school. When I was planning my wedding, I modified the pattern that I remembered and turned it into a wedding box.

Step 1: Items Needed:

Cardboard (used for lid and bottom of hat box)

Heavy duty poster board - should be flexible enough to bend without creasing (used for sides of lid and sides of bottom of hat box)

Iron-on fabric adhesive - (used to attach fabric to cardboard and poster board)

Quilt batting (optional to hide imperfection on lid of box)

White fabric (to cover cardboard and poster board)

Glue and glue gun (used to assemble box)

Iron (used with fabric adhesive)

Scissors & Box Cutter (used to cut fabric, fabric adhesive, cardboard, and poster board)

Decorative white pearls, white cording, white ribbon (used to decorate lid of box)

Step 2: Trace and Cut

Trace two circles -11 inch diameter on cardboard for top and bottom of hat box - (a large plastic lid works well for a pattern)

Measure a 1.5 inch x 36 inch rectangle on poster board for side of lid

Measure a 12 inch x 36 inch rectangle on poster board for side of bottom

Cut out the two circular and two rectangular shapes with box cutter

Step 3: Trace on Fabric Adhesive

Using shapes that were just cut out, trace onto paper side of fabric adhesive

Trace:

4 -circles (2 circles exact same size and Add 1 inch to outside of other 2 circles)

1 narrow rectangle - Using cardboard for pattern trace a 3.5 x 37 inch [(1.5 + 1.5 + .5 inch) x (36+ 1 inch)]

1 larger rectangle -Using larger cardboard piece as pattern, trace 25 x 37 inch [(12 + 12 + 1) x (36 +1)]

The extra 1 inch is used to attach to cardboard and poster board

Step 4: Iron and Cut

Iron the paper with previous tracing onto the back side of fabric

After fabric has cooled from ironing, cut out shapes with scissors

You will have 4 circles and 2 rectangles

Cut Vs out of the addition 1 inch that was added to the 2 circles and the large rectangle

The cut out Vs will allow you to fold over the edge of the circular shape on lid and bottom

Step 5: Iron Fabric Onto Cardboard

Peel paper back off all fabric adhesive pieces

Place adhesive side against cardboard and line up

Iron fabric onto cardboard rectangles, the heat from iron will make the fabric adhesive stick

Now you are ready to iron on fabric to cardboard circles for top and bottom

Start with larger circular fabric cut outs with V cut outs, center on cardboard and iron top

Next you will need to fold tabs over to the bottom of cardboard circle, ironing as you go.

This part is a little tricky to start but gets easier with each tab, moving all the way around circle one or two tabs at a time

Do the same for second circle

Iron on one of the exact size fabric circles to the bottom of lid

Do not iron on the other exact size fabric circle to the bottom of the base of the hat box, you will do this after the box is assembled.

Step 6: Assembling Box

Now it is time to assemble the box.

This step is also a little tricky.

Start with pieces for lid and shape narrow rectangular strip around round fabric covered piece

A paper clamp can help hold it in place

Using a glue gun attach on inside of lid with small line of glue on edge of circle

Next you will shape the larger rectangular strip around the other round fabric covered piece and iron the tabs on the bottom of the round. You will need to use the glue gun to attach where the side walls meet. After this has cooled, you can iron on the remaining round fabric piece to the bottom which will cover the tabs.

Make sure to test that the lid will fit on the bottom of box before you glue the bottom walls together. You can adjust size of bottom walls accordingly.