Work from home – and anywhere else! – with our collection of office essentials

What you need...

• Two contrasting fabrics
  Zip
  Mini bulldog clips
  Silver cord elastic
  200g tin can
  Mug
  Small jump ring
  Small pliers
  Adhesives: narrow doublesided tape, fabric glue

instructions

1. 1. Cover the base of a 200g tin with fabric by first measuring the can’s circumference and depth, then cutting a rectangle to these dimensions with an extra 5mm added to the circumference. Cut a strip of contrasting fabric to the circumference measurement and 5cm wide. Stitch this to one of the long edges of the rectangle with a 1.5cm seam allowance.
   
   2. Wrap this strip around onto the wrong side and stick it in place with fabric glue. Repeat on one of the short ends of the rectangle, cutting the strip 1cm longer, this is to enable the raw end of the strip to fold over to the wrong side of the bound edge. Now the rectangle can be stuck with doublesided tape or glue, to the tin can with the bound edge at the base.
   
   3. Cut two rectangles, one in each of the fabrics, to the circumference plus 2cm and a height of 15cm. Fold one of the rectangles in half with the two shorter ends matching, find the centre point on one of the long edges and mark. Open out the rectangle and make a notch 5mm away on both sides of the centre mark.
   
   4. Position the zip end with the stoppers to one of the shorter ends of the rectangle and the length of the zip running along the long edge, with the right sides of the zip and the fabric facing one another. Open the zip, pin and stitch in place as far as the 5mm notch. Repeat the process, stitching from the opposite side as far as the opposite 5mm notch, this should create a gap in the stitching line of 1cm and the remaining length of the zip hanging in the centre of the piece.
   
   5. Lay the remaining rectangle over the other, right sides facing and stitch together using the previous stitching line as a guide. Carefully thread the zip pull through the 1cm gap to the right side, then trim any excess. Leave the zip open.
   
   6. With the right sides of the fabric facing, stitch down each of the shorter ends and across the base, leaving a gap in the stitching line. Trim away any bulk from the corners, then turn right side out through the gap. Tease out the corners, press flat and slip stitch the gap closed by hand.
   
   7. Position the piece around the top of the covered tin can and stick in place. Connect the two edges of the rectangle together by hand stitching up 2cm from the base edge and the top of the can. Attach a mini bulldog clip to the hole in the zip pull with a small jump ring and a pair of pliers.