FYI


Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I am a basket-case!

Last year, when I started my blog, I briefly had this idea of assigning a particular crafts material to every week and only make projects that involved the chosen material. The idea didn't last very long - I think I managed to do two "MoW"s before it morphed into a "MoM" and then went AWOL. Wow. Or rather not. AnyHOW, looks like I am in a "material of the month" phase again, as during the past month or so I have posted four projects that involved felt - the gingerbread hearts, two cushions, and a flag/banner. And now I am adding another felt project to the list. You've guessed it - I felt deeply about felt...

I actually had a rough day, today, exacerbated by the fact that my Methuselah of a laptop coughed up with a couple of viruses and then decided to forestall my attempts at going online *sighs*. After a brief moment of panic - what will I do if I don't get my daily fix of FB, not to mention being unable to access my cloud-based editorial systems for work - I realised that dear old Methuselah had just given me the greatest gift of all: Time to be creative without the web. And so I gathered my stuff, set up the sewing machine in the warmest room of my house and worked away. Here is the result.


A felt basket.

I had some 2m of grey felt on hand, recently bought as a bargain for about € 6.00. It is about 4mm thick.

To start with I decided how big I wanted my basket and cut 5 square pieces of it, roughly 18x18 cm.


I put two squares on top of each other, carefully aligning the sides, and simply sewed a straight line down close to one edge.



This way I sewed four squares together, ending up by closing the "circle" and sewing square 1 and square 4 together. The hardest bit was actually sewing in the bottom of the basket - fitting 8mm felt under the needle was hard.


Voila - a felt basket in less than an hour for about 50c. For extra stability I turned the rim down.

Although grey is big on trend at the mo, the finished object looked a bit bland. So out came the left-over red felt from the cushions and I quickly whipped up a little flower to adorn the basket.


These baskets are so easy to make. They don't require any fancy patterns - squares is all you need. The felt is easy to work with as it doesn't fray. Only your sewing machine may be a bit overpowered by the thickness of the felt layers. But you could actually hand-stitch the sides together - it would probably give a nice effect, too.

What will I put into my new basket??

Best,
 


Linking to:  Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch  ***  Make it for Monday @ Cottage Instincts   ***   The DIY Showoff Project Parade   ***   I Made The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter  ***   Boardwalk Brag-Fest @ Bobbypins Boardwalk  ***   Spotlight Yourself @ It's So Very Cheri   *** Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple   *** Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies & Jellybeans  *** Get Your Craft On @ Life as Lori   *** Transformation Thursdays @ Shabby Chic Cottage   ***   Thrifty Thursday @ Tales from Bloggeritaville 

6 comments:

lisbonlioness said...

I've decided about a week ago to treat myself to some felt on pay day because I find felt crafts deeply intriguing. Thanks for sharing, I made a note of this big time!

Anonymous said...

Sonja, I always love your posts! This is a particular treat. I think I could actually do it and it has a fabulous look. You know I like your style, and I'm thrilled that you linked it to the Boardwalk Bragfest today. Thank you so much! What a treasure!

Anonymous said...

Love this. Wish I could sew...no patience for it. If I could come up with a no-sew version of this I'd make it. Heard of stitch-witchery? Yep, that's me.

You did a great job with this. Glad I stopped by for Bragfest.

the old white house said...

That looks like a great basket to put the winter crocheting projects by the couch! Thanks for sharing you tutorial, your basket is wonderful! Theresa

DHS said...

Very cute! I'm always looking for cheap ways to organize. Bins and baskets can be so expensive! I might make a few of these for my daughter's play kitchen. Thanks for sharing!

made at greenlodge said...

ok, this looks too easy so I'll probably fail but you leave me no choice but to try, , understand comment about the windows, we brits still love our plastic - decided against wood as we are exposed, at the top of a hill with sea winds - couldn't afford the upkeep of wood - As you said great to see another blog from Europe, am determined to find more. Might even do a post on some of the ones I have found. . . thanks for stopping by and thanks for the inspiration of the basket.