Fabric Easter Basket Tutorial

Round Fabric Easter Basket Tutorial

I've been wanting to do a tutorial for this Easter Basket I made, mainly because if I don't document it, I'll forget how I did it, and have to figure it out all over again, and let me tell you, the first several baskets I did were not pretty. I kept working on it though, and figured out the best way to do things so that anyone could make it look professional.

Here's what you need: (Dimensions are in inches)

10x22 piece of outer (main) fabric

10x22 piece of inner (second) fabric

2x16 piece of main fabric

2x16 piece of second fabric

A round piece of inner and outer fabric, with a diameter of 7 1/4 inches.

9x22 piece of fleece

1 1/4 x 16 piece of fleece

9x20 piece of very stiff interfacing

A round piece of stiff interfacing with a diameter of 6 1/2 inches.

I know it sounds like a lot, and by the time you're done cutting it all, you'll be sick of this basket, but it'll be worth it, I promise. =) For the round pieces, I literally scoured the house for round items that were the size I needed and traced them. I just happened to have the perfect sized dessert plates. Try to find this size, because I've done the math for you. If you're monogramming your basket, you'll want to go ahead and do that before you start sewing.

The first thing I do is sew the handle. Take your 2x16 pieces, and put them right sides together, and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance down the long sides only. 

Once you're done, turn it right side out. You can easily do this by using a pencil.

After you have it turned the right way, attach a safety pin to your 1 1/4" x16 piece of fleece, and pull it through the sleeve.

Make sure it fits well.  You may have to pull it back out and trim it slightly. It's okay if the fleece sticks out of the ends. We can trim that later. Once it's in place, stitch 1/4" from the edges on both sides. Then set this piece aside.

Next, you're going to grab your main fabric piece, fold it in half with the right sides together, and stitch down the side with a 1/4" seam allowance.

 If you have a serger, serge the edges. If you don't have a serger, go buy one. It will change your sewing life! I bought my little Brother serger on Amazon for like $140. Totally worth it! (For those of you that don't know what it does, it finishes your raw edges so that they don't fray.)

Now this next step makes things so much easier. I take a pencil, and mark the four "corners" so that I can line things up easier. I know I just confused you, so just check out the pictures.

Once I mark the edge (Just with a faint mark on the wrong side of the fabric) I line the seam up with the mark, and then mark the other sides, so if I'm looking at my round basket, I've made a mark at North, South, East, and West. Does that explain it? 

 

Then I take my matching round piece and do the same, marking the four corners. It's helpful to fold it in half like a taco, so you can get the marks even. I made the marks darker on the pictures, so they would show up, but I don't make them that big on the fabric.

Then you take your circle, matching up your marks, and pin it to the other piece of your basket. I use 8 pins, one at each mark, and then one in between each of those. I usually avoid pinning when I can, but I highly recommend it here to keep your circle nice and even.

Then sew around the edges. Sewing circles is one of my least favorite things to do, but if you keep it on the 1/4" mark, and stop every inch or two to make sure your edges are even, it's not too bad. Just take your time, because you really want this part to look good. Just turn the circle as you go.

 Once you've sewn all around, flip if right side out to check all the edges, and make sure there are no holes where your edges weren't together. If it looks good, serge it.

Now we're going to do your inner part. Right sides together, sew along the side and serge. Do NOT put the bottom circle on, that's the very last step.

Turn your main piece right side out, and your inner piece inside out. Put your inner piece around the outside of your outer piece. 

Your right sides should be together. Match up the seams, and using your corner marks to keep them even, pin them together. But don't sew it yet! Check the next step!

Before you sew, take your basket handle piece, and pin it on the basket. It should be in-between the layers of basket, with the raw edges sticking out. Make sure they are sticking above the edges a little further so that they are good and secure.

My purple side is touching the purple, and the pink on the pink. You should be able to pin them on the east and west side marks. Before you sew, flip the inner layer inside the basket just to check and make sure you have your handles are on right. 

Then sew around the edge, backstitching over the handles a couple times to make sure they are good and secure.

If I haven't lost you yet, congratulations! That was probably the most confusing part. Check your edges and make sure you kept your fabric lined up, and if it looks good, serge it. You can trim the extra fleece off the handles if you want. It should look like this.

 Now we're going to do the interfacing. Put your fleece and stiff piece together, with the fleece on the outside. Roll it up, and stick it down inside the basket. My pink part is kind of in the way for the next few steps, so just bear with me.

Take both your hands and stick them inside the basket, and push the sides out to get the lining in there really well, and make the basket nice and round. Take a pencil, and mark where the lining overlaps. 

Take the lining back out, and with a needle and thread, sew the top and bottom corners together, using your traced line to make sure it stays the right size.

  

Before we put it back in, we're going to put the bottom piece in. I like to get it in place, and sew just a little dot on your "corners" to keep it snugly in place.

Then you can put your lining back in, and make sure it’s a snug fit. Try to get the seam matched up with the back seam of the basket.

 I don't like to attach the big lining to the basket. In my experience, if you don't get it in there perfectly, it tends to warp the edges of the basket, and it's harder to get it round. It's better if the edges are sewn together, but not all the way down the sides, and it's able to "float" just a bit.

 Now take your last round piece and match up your four corners, pin, and sew it on. Your edges are going to be exposed, so serge or zigzag stitch it.

Then tuck it down inside, and voila! You're done!

I tied a little bow on the side, but you can decorate it however you like!

I'm hoping I didn't frustrate you to the point of swearing off sewing. Like I said, I went through several baskets before I figured out the best way for me to do them. A lot of the round basket tutorials were "Intermediate" projects, and they were difficult. I feel like, while this is a time-consuming project, it's a little easier way of doing things. I hope you enjoy, and I'd love to see pictures of how your baskets turn out!