DIY plywood countertop for the kitchen

Hi all! A beautiful and practical kitchen is the dream of every housewife. At the same time, it is important to achieve optimal performance in all directions. We rightly put practicality first. And the work surface plays one of the key roles. A homemade plywood countertop for the kitchen can be an excellent solution.

Some people are afraid to use this material. In fact, using a laminated and moisture-resistant plywood board, you can create an excellent, as well as practical, surface for cutting and cooking in the kitchen.

Laminated plywood table top

Today we’ll talk about how to make it, what to assemble it from, and what else you need to know before assembly, as well as during finishing.

This method is suitable for those who love wood, or rather its structure, and this material is also relatively environmentally friendly. It completely imitates a wood-look countertop for the kitchen.

Material selection

The first step is to buy blanks in the form of plywood sheets.

Of course, you can simplify your task and purchase a custom-made kitchen, including worktops. But today we are interested in a plywood countertop for the kitchen, assembled with our own hands.

Homemade plywood table top

Variety
. The optimal choice for the manufacture of such a kitchen element would be first grade Sh2 plywood. They are polished on both sides. Such parts do not have surface defects;
Moisture resistance
. Usually they choose between FC and FSF. The first option is only suitable for interior work. This is a priority for a computer or desk. FSF has much higher moisture resistance. Therefore, it is suitable for assembling kitchen furniture;
Laminated layer
. Highly recommended. However, in the kitchen the material will be exposed to moisture, temperature changes, and chemicals. Lamination makes the product more stable;
Plywood material
. In terms of ease of processing and strength, birch plywood demonstrates good performance. But there are other options;
Thickness
_ To make a tabletop, you should take plywood sheets with a thickness of at least 20 mm. Also, to get a more solid surface, you can connect 2-3 sheets together.

Three layers of plywood
All that remains is to purchase the required amount of materials. Here you have to do the calculations yourself, based on the size of the kitchen. Just remember that the width of a standard size table top is 60 cm.

Branch processing

After the pockets are made, you need to decorate them. The easiest way to do this is to stick appliques with fairy-tale characters. It will look beautiful if beautiful embroidery is done on the pockets in advance. The appliqués are attached before the pocket is sewn on.

You might be interested in this Interesting patterns and tailoring of things in boho style

Step-by-step instructions for processing pockets are as follows. The lower side edges are folded into a deep fold. This is necessary to give the pockets volume. To make flaps to close the pockets, they are cut in a trapezoid shape and sewn to the base at the wider part. For fastening, it is convenient to use a Velcro-type connection.

Decorated with appliqués

Rules for working with plywood

To make a kitchen plywood countertop of high quality, practical and durable, you need to learn how to work with the material.

Here it is worth highlighting the following basic principles:

to connect sheets, use moisture-resistant glue and self-tapping screws;
in order to protect against moisture, each layer can be treated with bitumen mastic;
make the tabletop only according to the detailed drawing;
for cutting, it is better to take a jigsaw with a new attachment;
carefully process and sand all edges;
when connecting with self-tapping screws, first make holes in the sheets using a drill and a thin drill bit;
the optimal material for joining sheets is wood glue;
if the tabletop consists of 2 or more sheets, treat with glue, screw in screws and clamp in clamps;
the distance between the screws should be about 15 cm;
open areas of plywood sheets must be treated with sealant and then covered with edges or strips.

Plywood with edge
This is the basic knowledge with which you can get started.

Decor options

Each cabinet and its hanging pockets are individual. To make the organizer bright, you can use fabric with checkered, striped, polka dots, flowers or stars. If you decide to stick to a plain base for the product, then the finished pockets can be decorated:

buttons, rhinestones (it is better not to use small parts for safety reasons);
ribbons and bows, lace;
applique, stripes, embroidery;
images of cartoon characters and animals;
the base can be the same color, the pockets are decorated with a pattern.

The right combination and reasonable selection of decor is important. You should not use many small decorative elements on fabrics with a ready-made pattern. If the base is monochromatic, it can be diversified with a combination of contrasting colors.

Tabletop manufacturing procedure

We sew pockets in a locker for a kindergarten with our own hands

To make pockets, you will need to take 2 types of fabric: elegant calico with a printed pattern for the visible sides, and white calico for the lining. Before starting work, it is advisable to wash, dry and iron all fabrics so that they immediately shrink as much as possible.

The finished size of the pockets is 65*25 cm. From the main and lining fabric, cut out 2 blanks measuring 68*27.5 cm. This will be the basis of the pockets for the wrong side and the lining for sewing on the pockets

From the main fabric, cut out 3 pieces of pockets measuring 22.5 * 27.5 cm. Glue the upper sections of the blanks with adhesive dolikov, cut in the form of strips 1 cm wide. They will protect the upper edge of the pockets from being pulled out during use.

Also, from the main fabric, cut out 3 parts for the facings of the upper sections of the pockets - rectangles with dimensions of 3.5 * 27.5 cm

Then you can start sewing. First, iron the lower longitudinal section of each facing 5 mm towards the wrong side.

Then place the facing on the pocket, face to face, align along the top edges, pin

Sew the facing with a 7mm wide seam. Remove the pins

Press the facing seam onto the facing. Fold the facing onto the wrong side of the pocket and iron it, fixing a transition edge 1-2 mm wide from the main part towards the facing, pin along the lower (ironed) edge to the pocket

Place finishing stitches close to the top and bottom edges of the facing, remove pins and iron

Prepare all the pockets in the same way.

Then continue working with the lining of the pockets. First, place the first pocket on it, aligning it along the bottom and side edges and pinning it with pins. Then mark the place where the first pocket begins, add 5 mm upward and draw a line - this will be where the bottom cut of the second pocket will be applied. Attach it to it, pin it and sew it with a seam 7 mm wide

Iron the second pocket up, stitch the seam of its stitching along the edge

Check that the pockets are sewn on correctly. They must go one right after the other

Process the last pocket in the same way.

You should be left with a small uncovered area at the top of the lining. Measure its height, add 7mm to the seam and sew it in the same way as the pocket. So the entire front side of the pockets will turn out beautiful

There can be several ways to attach pockets to a cabinet door. The simplest one is hanging loops of ribbons, through which the pockets are hung on small hooks. To make them, cut a grosgrain ribbon of a suitable color, 1 cm wide, into pieces 7 cm long. You will need 5 pieces in total. Scorch the cut of the loops with fire to prevent them from spilling out. Evenly distribute the prepared loops along the upper cut of the front side of the pockets

Place the main (back) part on the front side of the pockets, align and pin along the edges

Sew the pocket pieces around the perimeter using a 7mm wide seam, leaving a small unstitched area at the bottom for turning inside out. Remove the pins

Turn it inside out, straighten the pockets right side out, iron them, stitch along the perimeter close to the edge, and at the same time sew up the opening for turning them inside out.

Finish the buttons or overcast the loops and sew buttons to close the pockets.

New clothes for kindergarten are ready.

How and with what to process

Varieties

In order for the child to have everything he needs, there should be room in the pockets on the locker, for example, for the following things:

socks;
T-shirt;
tights;
sweater;
handkerchief.

Organizer for a locker
You may need not only these, but also many other things that are convenient to store in special pockets (for example, a comb, hairpins for a girl). Of course, these things can be folded into a neat pile or placed in a bag, but using pockets is much more convenient. Usually they are sewn onto fabric and hung on the door of the cabinet in which clothes are stored.

Each child can easily find their locker

Pockets with various methods of attachment to the door are used. The following options may apply:

The most common is the use of eyelets or loops. They are hung on screws screwed into the cabinet door, or hooks attached to it.
You can use an elastic band for fastening. In this case, there is no need to install hooks or hammer nails. Therefore, this method is convenient, but the elastic pockets will sag.
Can be attached with adhesive tape. To secure it more securely, it is bent over the top edge of the door.
You can use double-sided tape to hang the pockets. This method will be convenient in cases where it is not possible to screw screws into the door or attach hooks.

Pink organizer
Each pocket can be made open or closed. The following options can be used:

Using buttons or Velcro.
Make sure that the elastic bands go through the top edge.
Sometimes open pockets are suitable.
It will be beautiful if they are decorated with embroidery or appliqués depicting your favorite cartoon characters.

You will be interested in Sewing on your own and patterns of interesting shorts
To attach to the door, it is convenient if the fabric with pockets is folded to the outside of the door. In this case, it will be possible to attach a recognizable picture on the outside for each child and write his name.

For your information! This will allow the kindergarten teacher to easily find the things of a particular child, and the child to find out at first glance where his things are stored.

Organizers for children

The models used can be distinguished by pocket sizes:

Large pockets can be used (for which old jeans are used, for example), occupying the entire door or most of it.
Sometimes they are made of medium size, the size of half a door or a little larger.
It is common to use models that use several small pockets.

Note! When choosing how to sew pockets for a kindergarten in a locker yourself, you need to take into account that a small number of pockets will not allow you to efficiently organize the storage of your baby’s things, and too small ones will not always allow you to find enough space for larger, replaceable things.

The pocket closes with Velcro

Tool preparation

The kit depends on how you plan to cut plywood. It is recommended to do this in a furniture workshop, since the process requires high precision and the presence of a plunge-cut saw with an attachment for cutting sheet materials. To assemble the furniture you will need:

Cordless screwdriver or screwdrivers, drill, drill set
Hammer, chisels, files, chisel, plane, hammer, mallet
Plunge saw, jigsaw, hacksaw
Tape measure, ruler, square

A standard set of tools should be in every home

Summing up

Preparing materials, furniture diagrams and drawings, and directly assembling a kitchen from plywood is a painstaking but interesting task. The headsets are durable and beautiful, the release of harmful substances is minimized. Self-manufacturing of the design allows you to take into account the nuances of a particular room and the individual characteristics of family members. If the set is a complex structure, then the table can be assembled in 1 day. Try to start with this to understand how plywood behaves and what skills will be required to make more complex structures.

Let's do handicrafts together

Why do we need pockets for kindergarten? Mothers who have already raised more than one child know that such an accessory is very convenient to use. As practice shows, closets in preschool institutions are not very spacious. All clothes do not fit.

But we put spare panties, panties, socks, pajamas, and shoes there.

To put everything neatly and neatly on shelves, we came up with original fabric pockets. Of course, you can buy ready-made pockets and simply attach them to the cabinet door, but it’s much more pleasant to make such an item yourself.

You and your child can decorate the pockets with various figures, embroidery, appliqués and other designer little things.

The shape of the pockets should be narrow and long. To avoid getting into trouble, first measure the width and height of the door. Be responsible when choosing fabric. It should be elastic and moderately dense.