How to Make a Silverware Box

Keep your spoons, forks, and knives tarnish-free in a homemade silverware box.

A kitchen drawer is seldom large enough to hold more than one set of flatware. Moreover, spoons, knives and forks get scratched and damaged when they get banged together over and over again every day. Even worse, silver flatware tarnishes and is very susceptible to scratches. Fine flatware can be stored in a furniture-grade silverware box made of fine woods and lined with silver cloth, a special cloth impregnated with silver particles. However, if you're on a budget and want to protect your utensils, it's easy to make your own silverware box for very little money.

Things You'll Need

• 1 yard, 100-percent cotton fabric
• Twine
• New plastic fishing tackle box

Instructions

Flatware Storage Solution

1. Launder the cotton fabric before cutting it. Iron the fabric until it is wrinkle-free. Using a ruler and marking pencil, measure and mark 12-inch-by-12-inch squares on the wrong side of the fabric.

2. Cut out the squares with the scissors. One yard of fabric will produce nine squares. Wrap each place setting in one of the squares by placing it diagonally corner to corner. Fold each corner down over the flatware. Next, fold and roll the other two corners around the flatware.

3. Tie a length of twine around each flatware bundle. Put the bundles inside the fishing tackle box and close.

Tips & Warnings

• Use Pacific Silvercloth(tm) or 3M's Anti-Tarnish Strips instead of the cotton fabric.

• Use a large wooden cigar box instead of the fishing tackle box for a prettier container.

• Cut the fabric squares with pinking shears for an easy decorative edging.

References

• Country Living: Flatware Tackle Box