DIY Bedside Caddy (Using Dish Drying Mats!)

This easy sewing project uses two dish drying mats to make a DIY bedside caddy that will give you lots of convenient storage next to the bed. You can make this bedside organizer in just a few minutes!

Pink bedside caddy with white butterfly pattern holds a book, glasses, a pen, and other small items; tucked under a bed with floral sheets.

This bedside caddy is great for anyone who wants to keep a few things close by at night, such as a book, phone cords, a pen or reading glasses. It is also great for college dorms, too!

I love using dish drying mats to make fast and easy sewing projects, including our reversible dish mat basket and the quickest dish mat tote bag sewing project.

Supplies

2 Dish Drying Mats (I bought mine at Dollar General)
Disappearing Ink Pen
Parchment Paper (optional)
Basic Sewing Tools (matching thread, ruler, scissors, sewing machine)

Instructions

Remove the tags on the dish mats.

Place the right sides together.

A hand holds a fabric piece showing the floral right side and pink butterfly "wrong" side, with labeled arrows indicating each side's purpose for sewing.

Sew along the long edge on one side, stitching close to the serged edge, but not in the serged seam. Backstitch at the beginning and end.

A sewing machine stitching along the serged edge of pink fabric, with text instructing to sew along the serged edge and a black arrow pointing to the seam.

Open up the drying mats and lay flat. Fold up the bottom of the dish mat to create a pocket size that you would like. I folded mine up 5 inches, but you could do more. Be sure the folded measurement matches on each edge of the drying mat.

Clip together.

A hand lifts the corner of two stacked pieces of patterned fabric clipped together on a wooden table next to a clear ruler.

Draw lines to create as many pockets as you would like. Use a disappearing ink pen to do this.

A pink fabric with white butterfly prints is measured with a clear ruler on a wooden surface. A floral fabric is partially visible above.

Of course, if you just want one large pocket, you can skip to the next step to sew the edges!

Before: Two folded dish mats on a table. After: A woman points to the dish mats repurposed as a diy bedside caddy attached to a bed frame, holding a tablet and books.

Sew the seams together on one of the outer edges of the pocket by stitching along the serged edge. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end.

Now move the dish drying mats over to stitch along the drawn lines, being sure to backstitch at the beginning and end.

A person uses a sewing machine to stitch pink butterfly-patterned fabric layered over beige material.

Essential Tip: You may need to drop the feed dogs on your sewing machine (the zig-zag looking pieces located underneath the presser foot) to easily slide the mats. Your sewing machine may have a lever that you can press to drop those plates. However, if you don’t have that option, you can place a sheet of parchment paper over the feed dogs, slide your dish mats into position, then remove the parchment paper before starting to stitch.

To use, insert the top flat section between your mattress and box spring or bed frame.

Some of the things I like to store in this bedside caddy are:

Book
Notepad
Journal
Pen or Highlighter
Reading Glasses
Charging Cords
Lotion or Hand Cream
Flashlight
Phone

Alternatively, you could make this pocket organizer into a sewing caddy, too! Just place it underneath your sewing machine.

A Brother sewing machine sits on a table, covered with a floral and pink mat holding scissors, pens, and other sewing tools in front-facing pockets.

If you like easy dish drying mat sewing tutorials, be sure to see our pretty dish mat tote bag with decorative trim. You don’t need to sew a liner for it!

Want to save this sewing tutorial for later? Be sure to Pin It to Pinterest or save to Flipboard or Facebook!