Last week my fab sewing teacher introduced us to a Great British Sewing Bee ‘Sew Your Own Sewing Basket’ kit. The kit included 2 fat quarters, interfacing, fusible wadding and instructions. The whole class loved the look of the completed basket and we could see its potential for so many different uses – craft tidy, fat quarter tidy, bedside table tidy, cutlery holder, perfect for christmas and birthday gifts, especially toiletries. I had been looking for ideas for fat quarter projects and so I decided to give it a go. The instructions are really simple and the project is made in no time – seriously 45 mins max. Needless to say this really is my kind of project, quick and simple!
I didn’t have any fusible wadding so for one of the baskets I used fleece and for the other I used an adhesive spray and this worked perfectly with the wadding that I had. I had never used a glue spray before but it worked just fine and although it was £7 I can see myself using this a lot in future projects.
Everything you need – plus a sewing machine!
Cutting out – 2 fat quarters, interfacing and wadding all at the same time
All cut out and ready
Ironing the interfacing to the outer fabric
Adhesive spray – wadding to fabric
Pinning short sides together
With shorter sides sewn together I placed them inside one another with the right sides of the fabric touching. Then I sewed around the top – leaving an 8cm gap.
Pull the fabric through the gap, sew it up and Ta-dah!
I really enjoyed how quick this project is and the result is brilliant! I can see myself making lots of these. I am even planning on altering the size of the basket to make it longer and slightly deeper to fit perfectly on my sewing shelf. You really could pimp up these baskets with small pockets on the outside and maybe even handles? I have searched and searched the internet to find a link to the Great British Sewing Bee Kit and I can’t find it anywhere – so I assume it has been discontinued. This kit was picked up from a charity shop for just £1 – so keep your eyes open for them. Should you come across this kit (or another, as there are several in the series according to the booklet) please do let me know.
Happy Sewing!
