Customer Project: Primary Color Packing Cubes

by Jocelyn R.

• OVERVIEW
• HOW DO I MAKE IT
• MATERIALS

• These packing cubes are a “reskinned” version of the original RBTR Packing Cube DIY Kits that I made custom for my parents and sister for a 2023 Christmas gift. I had originally purchased a RBTR Packing Cube DIY Kit in orange as my first-ever sewing project, but while I was working on the kit for myself, I had a more motivating idea to make a custom color combination of these packing cubes as a Christmas gift, using the DIY Kit’s fabric dimensions as a guide. I made 9 packing cubes total: the blue cubes are made with 1.5 oz MONOLITE in Moroccan Blue, and the red and yellow cubes are made with custom-printed OutdoorINK 1.0 oz MONOLITE in the K9 and Q1 colors, respectively. I also used 5/8” grosgrain to bind the inside edges, which gave the cubes some nice structure. I decided to purchase the zipper components and Gutermann Mara 50 thread off of RBTR. I have yet to finish my original DIY kit (lol) but now I have plenty of practice to finish the remaining three quickly :) 
• If you really want to make your own custom packing cube like shown here, I suggest purchasing an RBTR Packing Cube DIY Kit to test out some strategies and get a feel for it. They have a fantastic video ([link to youtube video]) that you can follow along to do the steps. Then if you are really into making more packing cubes, you can measure out all of the dimensions of the packing cubes and go from there.

   

  TL;DR (literally the steps in the video, written up):

  1. Sew on zipper like a waterproof zipper to make zipper panel. Zipper teeth make a wonderful guide for straight stitches. Stitch on grosgrain ribbons (5/8 in) at ¼ in inseam in color of choice to keep zipper in check.
  2. Sew on back gusset panel (1/4 in inseam) at ends of zipper panel to make a loop. Don’t forget to add grosgrain binding on seams before doing top stitch. 
  3. Align loop bindings/stitching, clip corners at ends of loop at 45° angles so you have notches. Now fold pieces of top and bottom panels (rounded corner rectangles) “hamburger-style” and “hotdog-style”, cutting the corners at 45° angles there too.
  4. Turn loop inside out (zipper inside), align notches, and stitch together top and bottom panels to loop w/1/4 in inseam. Be careful around corners and make 4-5 cuts around corners to facilitate easier stitching. Bind edges w/ 5/8 in grosgrain in color of choice. BOOM! done.

• Required Materials:

  • OutdoorINK Solids 1.0 oz MONOLITE (Q1/yellow, K9/red) — 1 yd per set of S/M/L cubes
  • 1.5 oz MONOLITE (Moroccan Blue) — 1 yd per set of S/M/L cubes
  • #3 YKK Nylon Coil Zipper (White) — bought as a roll
  • #3 YKK Nylon Coil Long Pull Bag Zipper (Red, Lemon, Blue) — 2/bag, 6/color/set S/M/L
  • Gutermann Mara 50 (Red, Golden Yellow, Blue) — 546 yd spool each
  • 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon (Red, Golden Yellow, Blue) — Went through just over 21 yds (i.e. 1 spool from Joann's) per set S/M/L

  Related Products:

  • Gutermann MARA 50 thread
  • 1.0 oz MONOLITE™ Ripstop Nylon Mesh
  • Grosgrain Ribbon
  • Packing Cube Kit