Sewing Bee Fabrics Tutorial
Make Your Own Fabric Washing Basket
I decided it was about time to upgrade the messy pile of washing on the floor, so it was time to make baskets!
What you will need:
Outer and lining cotton (approx. 1- 1.5m each) I used Michael Miller's nuts for dinner fabric
The stiffest fusible interfacing you can find
7oz wadding
How to make it:
First, you need to decide how big your basket will be. Mine are about 30 x 30 x 40cm minus a cm or 2 lost to seams.
Cut your base square 30xm x 30 in your 2 cottons and interfacing.
Cut out 4 rectangles 30cm x 40cm from each cotton and from the interfacing.
Fuse the interfacing to either the inner outer cottons. I made the mistake of picking up sew-in interfacing so it made my life harder as it added another layer that wanted to move!
Sew the base of each rectangle on to your base square in each cotton, by turning them right side together and sewing your seam.
You should have 2 separate pieces now - 1 lining, 1cotton (plus interfacing).
I then cut my wadding to size. To cut down on wastage, I split it between 1 going down the full length of the 2 rectangles and base square, then 2 more rectangle pieces. If you are wanting to quilt it to your basket, then now is the time to do it. I just treated mine as stuffing and added it later.
Keeping them separate, you need to sew up the sides. Lift 2 rectangles up and pin these right side together, then go ahead and sew your side seam. Repeat on the other 3 corners. I find I get stabbed by pins far less if I only pin 1 edge at a time. Now repeat on your other fabric.
You should now have 2 basket shapes. Turn your outer layer the right way out.
If you haven't quilted your wadding, pop that in next. I used a few stitches sewn by hand along the joins of the wadding and dipping into the side seams to hold their position.
Then put your lining layer inside (still inside out) so the pattern is on the inside.
Now wiggle and jiggle it all until all your seams line up. Pin all layers in place. You may want to use a quilt basting spray between your layers to help hold the top half still as you sew.
Sew around the top of your basket. You can either do this as an overlocking stitch or top stitch near the edge. However, a walking foot or roller foot would be useful to use if you do to help keep your layers moving through the sewing machine at the same speed.
I then used left over material to make extra wide binding, which I cut about 3 inches wide. I didn't cut on the bias, so I used pinking shears for the edges. I pressed the sides under, then pressed in half.
I lined the centre fold of the binding up with the edge of the basket and sewed down in place. Usually I prefer to use a binding foot on my sewing machine, but because the wadding was not quilted it made the material very bulky so it would not go through as easily.
To hide the ends of the bias binding, what I did was to leave about a 3 inch tail when I started (never start on a corner!). When I hit near the end, I left about 3 inches unstitched, and cut my binding with a few inches to spare. I lined my tails up with right sides facing and pinned approximately the length I thought was left. I straightened the edge of the basket to check, then adjusted to the exact amount needed. Sew a seam in your binding tails where your pin was, then trim off the excess. I tend to use pinking shears to make the join more durable.
Now simply lay your bias binding back over the edge of your basket and stitch down.
It's now ready to test out!
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I made one night scenery for dark colours and one day scenery for lights!
We hope you enjoy our tutorials and love hearing what you think so please leave us a comment or send me an email to linda@sewingbeefabrics.co.uk
Happy Sewing!
What a lovely idea, I don’t know about others but most laundry baskets are plastic or wood these days and using these instead would be so much better for the environment! Also sewing 2 together would be useful for different colours and putting some handles on the sides too! Possibly using a waterproof fabric or pul for the lining too might be good for baby items or wet towels ect. I just love it
Thank you so much!! Handles or PUL would definitely make great additions. Or even a zip-around top for smelly laundry, especially as the basket can easily be washed with the clothes too!
Can’t wait to sew one but I think I will add some cloth handles also.
That’s a smart idea. I just bear hug mine down the stairs!
Love the basket. I have a stupid question.. the basket is washable.
Not stupid at all. Yes, if you make it the way I made it, then it is fully washable. Mine have been through a few times and still look as good as new 🙂
WHAT A GOOD IDEA , I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A WASHING BASKET ON LINE, BUT EVERY ONE SEEMED TO BE ALIKE, SO
SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAD ME INTERESTED THANK YOU
Thank you so much Beatrice. I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Very cute!
Thank you Linda 😀
Going to make some of these for my two granddaughters who are going away to college this Fall. These are adorable and I know they will love them and USE them to try too keep their dorm rooms neat!! Thank you for your very complete instructions. I am going to quilt them for extra stiffness and strength.
What a fantastic idea. They would be perfect for dorm rooms and quilting them will definitely make them more robust. If you run short on time though mine are still going strong and holding their shape fine, and seem the perfect size for a full washing machine load. I’d love to see how yours turn out 😀
This is a brilliant idea as I have brought a cheap basket and it falls apart so if I pay out for material and make it myself and you can wash it lovely
Thank you. Mine have are showing no signs of bother from a year or so of constant use so definitely more durable than a cheap basket! I’d love to see if you do make one
Very clever!
Thank you 🙂
I love this, I did one similar but i didnt reinforce the edges so its a bit floppy!
I’d love to see how yours came out. Floppy edges are fine as long as the washing can’t fall out!
Oh I love these – and the two designs for lights and darks. You’re so clever! Kaz x
Thank you!
oh wow I love this. My mum would love this too and she is more creative than me so would definitely give this a go x
If she does have a go, I’d love to see how it comes out 😀
Wow you are so creative. One of these would look lovely in my children’s bedroom. I think they would love one to as I could choose the fabric specifically. Thank you for sharing the tutorial. x
Thank you! Your right, you could match them to any bedroom theme 😀
How cool is your washing basket it is so nifty I love it. Who taught you to be so creative you did a good job x
Thank you!
I keep looking at your blog posts with awe and then annoyance that I cannot sew myself! I think I should just practice more until I can make even a half decent attempt at something like this x
That’s so kind of you. It just takes a bit of time and determination and I’m sure you’ll get there x
that looks great and just perfect for children. I would this for keeping all my little lady’s hair bits in too. Multi purpose!
Thank you! Unless you have ridiculous amounts of hair clips, you may need to scale the size down a bit first 😉