Embroidered Fabric Easter Basket

Welcome the spring season into home decor with a colorful and festive basket, perfect for Easter.

Four eggs-cellent creatures adorn the sides of our sample. Optional embellishments like ribbons, feathers, beads, and more can add extra fun.

Using interfacing, this basket is sturdy enough for a hearty Easter egg hunt, or a generous jellybean windfall.

Free project instructions include a pattern for the basket and information on embroidering and assembling the pieces. The finished basket, with handle, stands 9 inches tall. The base is 4 inches deep with a 5 1/4 inch diameter.

The pattern for the basket is split into four sections: bottom, two basket sides, and a handle. 

Print the bottom and each side piece once. Print the handle piece twice.

Click the link above to download the pattern for this design.

Cut out the shapes. Align Sections 1 and 2 of the side pieces, and align the two handle pieces as instructed on each print-out. Tape them together.

Lay the outer fabric right side up. Trace the side pattern twice on the fabric.

Print paper templates of the designs at full size using embroidery software. Cut around the templates for easier placement. Lay the templates inside the side piece pattern shapes - align them with the arc of the shape. Keep the templates at least 1/2 inch away from the top, bottom, and sides of the shape. 

Poke a hole in the center of the template and mark the fabric. Mark the horizontal and vertical axis lines as well.

Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the horizontal and vertical axis marks. 

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer and hoop it with the fabric. Align the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric.

Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design, align the needle directly over the center point, and embroider the design. 

After each design is finished, re-hoop the fabric and embroider the remaining designs.

After all the designs have finished embroidering, carefully trim away the excess stabilizer.

Cut out the basket sides.

Lay the inner fabric, wrong side up. Trace the side pattern twice.

Trace the handle pattern twice.

Cut out all three shapes, including the V-shaped cuts.

Lay the outer fabric wrong side up. Trace the bottom pattern twice.

Cut out the shapes, following the lines you drew, including the V-shaped cuts.

For the interfacing, we will adjust the pattern pieces because the interfacing needs to be smaller than each corresponding fabric piece.

Trim the seam allowance tabs from each of the three pattern pieces.

Measure and mark about 1/16 inch inward all the way around each piece. Trim all of the pieces. Now, the pattern pieces are the perfect size for tracing and cutting the interfacing.

Trace the shapes onto the interfacing - trace the bottom and handle piece once and the side piece twice.

Cut out the shapes.

Align the embroidered side pieces with the inner lining pieces, right sides together.  Pin in place.

Sew a 3/8 inch seam along the top and bottom edges only - leaving the ends open. 
Stitch just below the V-shaped cut outs of the seam allowance.

Turn the pieces right sides out, and insert the corresponding interfacing pieces.

Iron the pieces to adhere the interfacing to the fabric.

Turn the open ends in 3/8 inch, and iron in place.

Align the ends of the two side pieces and...

...stitch them together with a zigzag stitch.

Align the opposite ends and zigzag stitch them together as well.

Sandwich the corresponding interfacing piece between the two bottom fabric pieces.

Iron the bottom piece on both sides to adhere the interfacing to the fabric.

Slide the bottom piece into the base of the side piece.

Pull back each tab of the bottom piece, add a drop of hot glue. Glue each tab to the fabric of the side piece.

Align the handle fabric pieces with the right sides together.  Pin in place.

Sew a 3/8 inch seam along each of the long sides, leaving the short ends open.

To turn the handle fabric right side out, cut a piece of string that is a bit longer than the fabric.  Tie one end of the string to a safety pin and work the pin through the handle piece from one end to the next.  Then, pin the string to the inside of the fabric and gently pull � turning the handle piece right side out.

Now use the string and pin to insert the interfacing for the handle.

Work the pin from one end of the handle piece to the next as you did before. Then, pin the string to one end of the interfacing and gently pull it through the handle piece.

Iron the interfacing to the fabric.

Turn the ends in 3/8 inch, as you did with the side pieces, and iron them in place.

Add a drop of hot glue to both ends of the handle and...

...press them into place on the inside of the basket at each seam.

Add decorative grass and pretty eggs, or let the Easter Bunny fill it!