They say don't put all your eggs in one basket, but this petite pretty is sized just right to fit last week's trio of stuffed eggs.
To get started you'll need:
- Botanic Garden project pack
- Medium-weight Interfacing
- Low-loft Quilt Batting
- Lace trim (optional)
- Chalk pencil, pins, scissors, needle & thread
And, of course, the pattern (click the link to download the pattern sheet from my Hightail page).
For each pattern piece you'll cut 2 out of fabric (one inside, one outside), 1 from your interfacing, and 1 from your quilt batting. The quilt batting will be cut to the finished size (not the cut size!) to avoid bulk in the seams. And speaking of quilt batting, I like to buy the ones intended for baby-sized quilts because they are just the right thickness for small projects like this and a manageable size to work with.
Once you have your pieces cut and the sewing lines transferred in place (very useful for the scalloped edge of the basket), we're going to make a couple of fabric sandwiches:
- With the outside fabric base (circle) right side down, center your quilt batting and then top with your interfacing and pin securely inside the sewing area. Leave the inside fabric base alone for now.
- Pair your inside and outside sides right sides together, then arrange the batting layer inside the sewing lines, and top with the interfacing.
- (Optional) If you're using lace trim along the scalloped edge, sandwich that in between your inside and outside sides, making sure the pretty/finished edge of the trim is pointing into the fabric sandwich and the selvage/straight edge is placed above the uppermost edges of the sewing line.
Sew your first seam along the scalloped top edge of the basket. I find it easier, on projects like this, to lower the feed dogs on my sewing machine, raise the presser foot, and essentially "free motion" stitch like you would with a curvy quilting pattern. If you've never tried this before with your machine, grab some scraps of fabric and give it a whirl to get used to being in total control of where the fabric goes while stitching--it's really fun!
Unpin one end of your side-sandwich and check to make sure everything looks more or less correct before undoing the rest of the pins and trimming the seam allowances. If you used a loose-weave trim (or, like I did, some hand-knit lace), you'll want to seal the cut edges of the trim with Fray Check or something similar to prevent unraveling. Also clip the inside curves to make turning the scallops easier, later.
Peel up the inside fabric from the sandwich and lay your sides out flat, right-sides up. Clip the bottom edges of the inside fabric and the outside/interfacing sandwich to just before the sewing line to make the next step easier.
Starting in the center of your sandwiched fabric side, pin the side to the sandwiched base, easing it around the curve of the base fabric, just the way we did on the eggs last week, leaving enough for seam allowance where the sides opposite of where you started. Do the same with the single layer of inside sides and base, creating a hollow drum of sorts.
Sew the bases to the sides and trim the seam allowances along the sewn edges.
Sew up the center seam of the sides but leave a gap (preferably on the inside section) for turning. You'll probably have a bit more than the usual 1/2" seam allowance where the sides meet (blame geometry--I rounded up on the side lengths for ease of measurement, better to have too much than not enough when working with circumferences), so just trim your batting so that it doesn't interfere with the sewing.
Turn the basket right-side out, using a chopstick or similar to help push out all the pretty scallops along the top edge. Pressing and top-stitching of the scalloped edge are optional--I opted not to, but you might like the look of it.
Hand stitch the turning gap closed and then secure the inside (aka lining) to the rest of the basket by stitching in the ditch along the seams where the base meets the sides. The more successful you are at hiding your taking stitches, the more use you'll get out of the reversible nature of this basket!
Believe it or not, the basket and last week's eggs only used about half of each fat quarter in the Botanic Garden fabric project pack, which makes me very happy since I like to stretch my supplies as far as I can. This also means I'll have one more project coming up with them next week, just to squeak in more of this perfect-for-Easter fabric before the big day!
Wishing you creative days,
