My friend Heidi Bragg gave The Boy an adorable basket filled with goodies as a thank you for borrowing his tux. I found out that she actually made this gorgeously cute basket herself, and insisted that she tell us how! She did, and even provided a pattern for you to make your own! Check out the so cute monkey and banana coordinated fabric… the possibilities are endless. Wouldn’t this be special for a keepsake easter basket? Or a gift basket for a friend?

I’ve updated the photo at the top of this post to include a couple of the baskets that Dabbled readers (Gina Allen & Justine Wilson)  have made, using these instructions.  Really nice job, guys!

Welcome CRAFT, Tip Junkie, and Whip-up readers…
Look around, we have lots of cool projects here!

More pics and the pattern below the instructions.

Materials for basket:
½ yard of fabric (¼ for the outer basket shell; ¼ for the liner)
1 yard Pellon, double-sided fusible interfacing – you can make 2-3 baskets from a single yard of interfacing, but since you need the length for the basket handle, you need at least 1 yard even if you only plan to make one basket.
Iron on backing (WunderUnder) for letters
Contrasting fabric for letters

Step 1: First things first, you’ll want to design your basket or download the pattern I created. The basket I designed is a tapered square design, but you could easily create a rounded basket with just a few modifications.

Step 2: Cut out the pieces as shown in pattern from both the outer shell fabric and liner fabric. You’ll also want to cut out a 2.5” wide x 25” long piece from each fabric for the handle.

Step 3: Trace the interfacing pattern pieces onto the Pellon. You’ll also want to measure out (2)1.25” wide x 26” long pieces of interfacing for the handle. Cut out all the pieces.

Step 4: Iron each piece of fabric to remove wrinkles. Fuse the Pellon onto the outer shell fabric (follow the directions on the interfacing to do this), leaving about a ¼” of excess fabric around the edges (the basket side pieces will have additional excess at the top).

Step 5: Sew the outer shell together keeping the needle of the machine as close to the interfacing as possible. I found it easiest to sew all the sides together and then attach the bottom of the basket. The basket should now be formed – simply turn it right side out (this might seem a bit difficult to manage with the stiff interfacing, but don’t give up. Any wrinkles that appear can be ironed out later.) Iron the top edge of the basket down over the back of the interfacing.

Step 6: Sew the liner together – sides first and then attach the bottom. Insert the liner into the outer shell and fold the top down so that it is even with the outer shell. Iron into place, following the directions on the Pellon to complete the fusing process.

Step 8: Follow the Pellon directions to fuse your handle fabric onto each piece of your handle interfacing, wrapping the fabric around the interfacing so that the raw edges meet. Sew the wrong sides of the handles together.

Step 9: Attach the handles to the basket by sewing them onto the interfaced-lined outer shell. Ideally, the handle should rest at least 1.5 inches below the top of the basket on each side.

Step 10: Stitch the liner to the outer shell using a decorative stitch. Or if you prefer, you can use sewing glue to close the seam.

Lettering:
Follow the directions provided here to add lettering to your basket. I choose not to outline my letters with stitching and therefore applied them after the basket was complete. If you prefer to edge stitch your letters, you will need to do this before you fuse the fabric to the Pellon or stitch the basket pieces together.