Sew a fabric basket: Thanks to my little trick, a round flower basket is easy to sew, even for beginners. You can find the pattern, sewing video, and instructions here.
The most important points at a glance
- A round fabric basket in the shape of a flower is perfect as a sewing basket or for storing jewelry or cosmetics
- You can download the pattern for the fabric basket as a free PDF template here in the post
- The fabric basket is sewn from sturdy fabrics such as cotton, canvas, or linen
- Sewing level: easy
- Sewing time: 20 min.
Why should I sew a fabric basket?
Fabric baskets are the ideal solution if you want to keep your accessories neatly sorted and within easy reach. My flower basket features a star-shaped bowl in the middle for buttons, sewing clips, cosmetics, and much more. The individual petals provide space for rings, tailor's chalk, measuring tapes, or spools of thread.
The fabric basket is a wonderful gift and always looks very decorative. With minimal effort and a little trick, you can conjure up a really beautiful little gift in no time at all.
In the instructions, I'll show you a little trick that allows even beginners or children to sew the basket perfectly round and neat.
Perhaps you are already familiar with my basic guide for sewing an organizer that can be round, rectangular, or square. If not, feel free to take a look at that too!
You might also be interested in my guide on how to sew your own simple sewing basket?
What do I need to sew a fabric basket?
You need sturdy fabric, for example, woven cotton, linen, or similar. You also need some H250 fusible interfacing and sewing thread that matches the fabric. You can also use a "neutral" color, such as beige or light gray sewing thread, which almost always works. Of course, you can also work tone-on-tone.
Reading tip: If you want to know more about sewing with cotton fabrics, read my blog post on this topic.
How big are the finished fabric baskets?
The finished baskets have the following diameters:
- small: 16 cm
- medium: 20 cm
- large: 28 cm
How much fabric do I need for which size?
For the three fabric basket sizes, you need the following amounts of fabric:
- small: 4 cuts of 19 x 19 cm
- medium: 4 cuts of 23 x 23 cm
- large: 4 cuts of 31 x 31 cm
All measurements include a 1 cm seam allowance plus a little "wiggle room"
Sewing a fabric basket: pattern
Now you might be wondering where you can download the free pattern for the flower basket. It's easy: Right here!
Download pattern for fabric basket/flower basket
Afterward, print the pattern at 100% scale without page scaling. Make sure you set it to "Document and Markups" so that all markings on the pattern are printed as well. :)
What fabrics can I use to sew the flower basket?
Sturdy fabrics are best for the fabric basket. One of the fabric layers should be reinforced with H250 fusible interfacing so that the flower basket keeps its beautiful shape while still being easy to turn.
You can easily sew the top and bottom of the fabric basket using different fabrics.
Very suitable fabrics include:
- Woven cotton* (e.g., chambray fabrics* or Kokka fabrics*)
- Cotton batiste*
- Linen fabrics*
- Denim fabrics*
- Canvas*
- Decorative fabrics*
It is important that you wash and iron the fabrics before using them so that the basket doesn't shrink or lose its shape after the first wash.
What other accessories do I need?
- H250 fusible interfacing*
- Fabric marker*
- Sewing thread* (also great in a contrasting color for topstitching!)
- Rotary cutter*
- Fabric scissors*
- Sewing machine*
- Pins*
- Iron and ironing board (feel free to read more about practical ironing aids)
- Fabric clips*
- Pinking shears*
What does my sewing machine need to be able to do to sew a round fabric basket?
All you need is the straight stitch on your sewing machine. It is best to equip the machine with a universal needle. An 80-gauge needle is perfectly sufficient here.
If you like, you can also use a quilting needle or an edge-stitching foot for topstitching. If you want to know more about sewing feet and their uses, feel free to read my blog post on the subject.
Photo tutorial: Sew a fabric basket in 20 minutes
With my little trick, the flower basket is super easy to turn inside out. And completely without a turning opening. I learned this trick from quilters. It is used there for reverse appliqué. And what's good for quilting can surely be suitable for other sewing projects, right?
The self-sewn fabric basket consists of two circles that are sewn in the same way. Afterward, they are shaped into a basket with a few clever stitches. Absolutely no rocket science. :)
So grab your favorite fabrics and let's get started!
Step 1: Preparing the pattern pieces
You need 2 pattern pieces for the top and 2 pattern pieces for the bottom.
- Cut the fabrics large enough so that the pattern plus an additional seam allowance fits on them.
- The seam allowance should be 0.7 - 1 cm (depending on what you prefer)
- Iron interfacing onto the back of one top piece and one bottom piece and let the fabric cool down.
- Pin the two top pattern pieces together, right sides together.
- Trace the outline of the pattern onto the wrong side of the fabric piece.
- Sew around the circle with the specified seam allowance.
- If you use a short straight stitch, the circle will be particularly neat and the seams nicely rounded
- Trim the seam allowance all the way around, right up to just before the seam.
- Now comes the trick: Cut a small turning opening in the middle of the unreinforced side.
- Turn the fabric circle through the opening.
- Shape the seam well and iron everything neatly.
- By the way, I like to use a wooden spoon to help shape it. :)
- Topstitch the fabric circle all the way around close to the edge with a straight stitch.
- Sew the second circle exactly the same way.
- Now pin the fabric circles together with the turning openings facing each other.
- Transfer the markings from the pattern onto the fabric circle that is to become the inner flower.
- Sew along the long markings with a straight stitch.
- Fold the top side together at the short markings.
- It should look like this now:
- Sew the short markings right sides together with a seam approx. 1 cm long.
- Shape the flower basket well.
- Make more of them! ;)
Fabric basket sewing YouTube video
Conclusion
Such a flower basket is really quick to sew and great fun, isn't it? Let me know if you had the same experience as me: I couldn't resist the temptation to immediately conjure up a whole pack of fabric baskets. Each one nicer than the last.
In any case, this project is perfect for beginners. If you like sewing with children, the fabric basket is also a great sewing idea. Get to the machine! :)
Happy simple sewing
your Sabine
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