The previous thread prompted me to post some photos of a sewing box I made a short time ago. This was commissioned by a friend of my daughter who is an excellent embroiderer. She was very clear about what she wanted, two drawers for her threads and tools, a larg(ish) bin on top to hold work in progress and a glass insert in the lid for a special piece of embroidery. She provided the basic dimensions and specified that the box was to be made mainly from Rimu.
So all the hard work was already done - I just had to cut the bits out and stick them together. Of course there were a few decisions left for me to make along the way but I'm fairly satisfied that most of them weren't too bad and we were both happy with the result. Dimensions are 310 mm wide, 230 high and 240 deep.
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I wanted the top to be reasonably plain because I felt the focus should be on the embroidery but at the same time the top is where we box makers normally show off, so I felt I had to make an effort. After much thought I decided on the sun burst pattern using silver beech, with the idea in mind that the radiating lines would draw the eye towards the centre. I'm not sure that's quite what happens but the lid, which simply pivots up on pins, is very effective without overpowering the embroidery - sorry, I don't have a photo of that as it was fitted after the box was delivered to it's owner who lives in a different city.
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The back and sides of the carcass were box jointed which made it very strong but I didn't think that a similar treatment in front would look quite right with the drawers, so opted to use the contrasting spline that can just be seen in the photos, which seemed a suitable compromise. All the smaller parts are mahogany. The glass and embroidery are fitted from inside the lid, picture frame style, and secured with a screwed on panel. All in all quite a satisfying project.
Rex
