Fabric Easter Basket

I know that Easter is over.  But I was so busy trying to finish this project that I didn't get a chance to share it with you before the fact!  So I figured that it was better late than never.  Maybe you can get a head start on next year!

At any rate, when I started thinking about Easter this year I wanted to get a special basket that Little Bear could keep and use for years to come.  Naturally I figured that anything homemade would have special significance, but how in the world would I make an Easter basket?  Never fear - there are more creative bloggers out there than me!  And thankfully I found one.  :o)

While it was an old post, I found the directions that I needed here, on the Moda Bake Shop blog.  For the most part, I followed their tutorial but I did make a few modifications:

1.  While the directions say to use a Moda honey bun, I could not find one with colors/patterns suitable for a little boy's Easter basket.  Instead, I found four different fabrics that I liked and cut my own 1.5" strips.  It actually did not take long using a rotary cutter and mat.  Plus you don't have to worry about the strips being perfect - the basket is supposed to have a scrappy look to it.

I used ~3/4 yd. of each fabric to make Little Bear's basket.

2.  I wanted a bigger basket that Little Bear could grow with.  I enlarged the size of the basket to ~10.5" diameter x ~5.5" tall with a handle that increased the overall height to ~14".  Based on these measurements I ended up using ~3/4 yd. of each fabric (3 yards total fabric) and ~60 ft. of size 3 (12/32") piping.  To increase the size, simply continue coiling the piping until you reach your desired size!

3.  With the increased size, I did not use any of the size 1 piping (6/32").  Instead I used ~12 ft. of the size 3 piping (12/32") to make the handle.

The basket itself was not difficult to make and I really enjoyed it.  I especially love that it looks much more difficult than it is.  If it hadn't been for the time crunch, it would have been even better!  After seeing the joy on Little Bear's face Easter morning, the late nights sewing were definitely worth it. And now we have a special basket to pass on through the years.

The Easter Bunny filled Little Bear's basket to the brim!