Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Tutorial Tuesday: Burlap Basket Liner

I picked up two, large wire baskets at a garagle sale for fifty cents each. Living in a small home has made me appreciate creative storage solutions. I love the look of vintage locker baskets and industrial, wire baskets on shelves. These two wire baskets are not, however, in those categories and would look better hidden away in a closet or under a bed. I had to do something to bring these boring storage baskets out of hiding.


I decided to use burlap because the baskets are large and burlap is inexpensive at $3-$6/yard. I also happen to like burlap and since I cannot afford linen (unless I get lucky enough to find it at an estate sale), this is the next best thing.

This is how you can make a basket liner of your own:
First, measure the four sides and bottom of the basket adding 1" to each side for the seam and four inches for the top of the sides that will fold over. After cutting out the fabric according to the measurements and seam allowances, hem all four sides of each piece. Then, lay the pieces in the basket and pin them together. When you take it out of the basket, it should retain its shape being held together by the pins. Next, sew all the sides together removing the pins as you go. Before placing the liner in the basket, iron a crease where it will fold over to make it lay flat.


I was just going to leave it like this and possibly stencil on the burlap, but it looked a little plain and still boring. So....I did what I always do in this situation - I added a ruffle! I used vintage pillowcases to make the ruffles. The thing I love most about using vintage cotton sheets and pillowcases, is that I can tear it instead of cutting. This makes it much faster and the strips of fabric come out straighter than if I were cutting. Continuing the tutorial....Next, rip several strips of fabric for the ruffles. The total length of the fabric strips needs to add up to twice the perimeter of the basket because you are going to be gathering it. To make the ruffle, sew a straight stitch, the length of the fabric strip, about 1/2" from one side. I left the other edge of the ruffle raw because, let's be honest, that would be too much sewing. Besides, I think the raw edge fits with the rustic quality of the burlap fabric.




Oh, and if you have a cat, you might want to lock him in another room. Whenever I try to lay out my fabric for cutting, my kitty, Beau, likes to tangle himself up in it and then scratch me when I try to get it away from him.


I don't get it! Everything is a game to him or something :)



The last step is sewing the ruffle to the underside of the burlap.




No more hiding under the bed. Here they are on top of my armoire.

9 comments:

Emily said...

I love those! What a great way to turn something so boring into something beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial. Cute kitty, too! :)

Amanda@RelovedRubbish said...

Thanks Emily!

Anonymous said...

I'm very impressed Amanda! All you needed was a little solitude for some motivation to flow. That move was obviously good for you. Beau looks bigger than my kitties.

Amanda@RelovedRubbish said...

Thanks Kylee. I know, I always said I was going to start sewing, but I never once got my machine out at our other house. It is very inspiring living here. Beau is a big kitty! He has huge paws and he is still growing into them!

Anonymous said...

Hey! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I
came to give it a look. I'm definitely loving the information. I'm bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Excellent blog and excellent design.

Anonymous said...

Everything is very open with a precise clarification of
the challenges. It was really informative. Your site is very helpful.
Thank you for sharing!

Look into my webpage: rolladen

Anonymous said...

bookmarked!!, I love your web site!

Feel free to surf to my web site ... commercial property

Anonymous said...

Hello, I want to subscribe for this web site to obtain hottest updates, therefore where can i do it please
assist.

My homepage; found Here

Unknown said...

ralph lauren uk
coach outlet
michael kors outlet
ralph lauren uk
true religion jeans
ray ban eyeglasses
louboutin shoes
jordans
off white clothing brand
coach outlet
www0820

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails