Bedside Caddy Pattern Maker
A caddy keeps small things within reach of a bed or a chair. It is a panel of pockets with a back, and a way of staying put.
Choose how it attaches: tucked under a mattress or cushion, hung from loops, or tied to a chair back. Set the panel size, the tail or tie lengths, and fill it with rows of pockets.
Make it yours: Resize each pocket row for your phone, glasses or craft tools, and choose a tuck tail, loops or ties to suit where it hangs.
Make this pattern in your size →What you can change
Size
- Panel width: 18–80 cm (7⅛–31½″). Across the visible pocket panel.
- Panel height: 18–70 cm (7⅛–27½″). Visible hanging panel, excluding the tuck tail.
Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Panel width 40 cm (15¾″), Panel height 30 cm (11¾″).
Options
- Attachment: tuck under mattress / cushion, hanging loops or chair-back ties
- Switches: Interfacing
- Measurements and counts: Tuck tail length, Hanging loop drop, Each tie length, Attachment width, Pocket border
- Lists you build: Pocket rows
Starting points
These are sizes and settings to begin from, and every one stays fully editable. Type your own measurements, or start from the nearest one.
| Starting point | Finished size, cm | Same starting point in round inches |
|---|---|---|
| Bedside essentials | 40 × 30 cm pocket panel · 35 cm tuck tail | 16 × 12″ pocket panel · 14″ tuck tail |
| Chair-back caddy | 35 × 35 cm pocket panel | 14 × 14″ pocket panel |
Cutting list
At the starting size (Panel width 40 cm (15¾″), Panel height 30 cm (11¾″)) the pattern has these pieces. Fabric sizes include seam allowance, interfacing is cut to the stitching line, and pieces cut on the fold are shown opened out. Each size is the width and height of the piece as cut.
| Piece | Fabric | Cut | Size to cut | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caddy front and back | Main fabric | 1 | 42 × 67 cm (≈16½ × 26⅜″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Caddy front and back | Lining | 1 | 42 × 67 cm (≈16½ × 26⅜″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Caddy front and back | Interfacing | 1 | 40 × 65 cm (15¾ × ≈25⅝″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Row 1 · flat pockets | Main fabric | 1 | 39 × 28 cm (≈15⅜ × ≈11″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
You will also need: Thread. The cover page and materials list give the amounts for your size.
The maker’s fabric estimate at this size: Main fabric about 0.5 m of 112 cm fabric; Lining about 0.5 m of 112 cm fabric.
How it goes together
These are the maker’s own instructions at the starting size. They change with the options you pick, and the PDF carries the full set with the cover, cutting list and materials list.
- Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the front panel. Keep it out of the seam allowances.
- Make the pocket strips: fold each strip in half on its fold line, right sides together. Sew both short ends at 1 cm, trim the corners, turn right side out and press. Turn the two raw bottom edges in together by 1 cm and press.
- Sew the rows on from the top row down: row 1.
- Row 1, flat pockets: lay the strip on the caddy front front with its folded top on the row's top line. Edgestitch down one side, across the bottom and up the other side, backstitching at both top corners. Sew each divider line from the bottom up to the top edge and backstitch firmly there, where pockets take the strain.
- Put the front and backing right sides together. Sew around all four edges at 1 cm, leaving a 7.5 cm turning gap in the top edge, clear of the attachment marks. Trim the corners and grade bulky allowances.
- Turn the panel right side out. Press the edges, fold the gap allowances inside and topstitch around the perimeter to close the gap and secure the attachments.
- Fold at the marked mattress edge and tuck the 35 cm tail under a mattress or seat cushion. Test it with light contents first; a slippery or loose cushion may need a longer tail or a non-slip backing fabric.
Fabric suggestions
Outer: Canvas, duck, denim or heavy linen for a caddy that holds weight; quilting cotton or linen for a light one.
Lining: A firm cotton or the same fabric for the back. Pocket strips are cut from the main fabric.
Interfacing, padding or other layers: Light fusible interfacing keeps a cotton panel flat. Heavier things in the pockets want canvas.
How each fabric family suits it
- Stable woven: great choice. Presses neatly into pleats and keeps narrow pockets straight.
- Heavy or stiff: great choice. Strong enough for tools. Pleats and strips stack up layers at the side seams: use a jeans needle and grade the allowances.
- Stretchy knit: not recommended. Pockets and straps sag under load. Use a stable woven fabric.
- Slippery or fine: possible, with care. The strips shift while pleating and stitching dividers; baste first.
The maker’s advice adjusts to the fabric family you pick in the Fabric tab.
Printing it
At the starting size the printed pieces take 11 A4 pages, taped together using the page labels, alignment marks and page map. For a print shop, choose a sheet from A0 to a 36″ roll: the pieces are packed onto as few sheets as they will fit on, and if one is too big for the sheet the maker says so. Every piece here is a rectangle or a strip, so the cutting list above is enough and you can skip printing. How printing, tiling and the test square work.
Frequently asked questions
What size can I make?
The bedside caddy pattern takes panel width from 18–80 cm (7⅛–31½″); panel height from 18–70 cm (7⅛–27½″). It starts at Panel width 40 cm (15¾″), Panel height 30 cm (11¾″), and you can work in centimetres, millimetres or inches. There are 2 starting points to begin from (Bedside essentials, Chair-back caddy). Every starting point stays fully editable.
Which fabric suits the bedside caddy pattern?
Canvas, duck, denim or heavy linen for a caddy that holds weight; quilting cotton or linen for a light one. In the maker’s fabric advice, stable woven and heavy or stiff are a great choice; slippery or fine is possible with care; stretchy knit is not recommended.