How to Make a Reversible Felt Basket

 This is so simple I am almost embarrassed to call it a tutorial. The background on this is that when I buy fruit at our local farmer's market it often comes in cardboard baskets like this one.  I use them to store various little bits and pieces but sometimes I have more than enough and I have to flatten them to go into the recycling bin. The handle is removed and then the ends are unattached and one is left with the carcass of a basket.

 

I wanted to make some simple baskets to hold some small gifts for Christmas. So I laid down two contrasting colors of wool felt and traced the shape of the flattened fruit basket out. I sewed them together . I then folded the shape back up into a basket and sewed a button on either end to fasten it.  So simple and yet so functional. You could make this with other fabric , stiffen it with interfacing or even hide a piece of cardboard from the original basket in the base if you wanted to. I like the softness and slight laxity to my prototype. I bet it would be really awesome made with recycled burlap. 

 

 

My daughter thought I was making a military style felt hat. I will have to think about that and see if I can convince her to model it later in the week:)

I had great fun filling it with beautiful soft things and taking pictures. Edgar found it very interesting as well and I found it increasingly difficult to get any shots without a little bit of edgar appearing somewhere in the picture. 

 

 

The elves are really busy making pompoms in the land of resurectionfern.

As the lovely Lisa so aptly reminded me today, it is the one year birthday of my little etsy shop. I still laugh at how my shop's name is knitalatte and I have yet to sell anything knitted to this very day. I am going to celebrate with a giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment here by December 6th at midnight. The prize will be four prints from my shop of your choosing. I will even mail them to different addresses if you want to give them as gifts. Thanks so much for a wonderful year. Now if only I could get those pompom making elves to take up the hook and crochet some covers for stones! 
   
  

 
 

 

Comments

[bethel of bethania]

Ohh myyy... that is quite easy to make & it looks so classy... Will be a great gift holder Margie... thanks... OOroo... Bethel

[memmu]

You've got so many wonderful ideas... and stories too :)! Thank you for sharing your lovely world with us!

Have a good day!!!

-mervi

[wintu nancy]

Thank you for all the neat ideas. I am still having fun crocheting covers for rocks and giving them as gifts.

[Nanou]

I guess Edgar thinks it's alreaddy Christmas and that all these gorgeous pompons are gifts for him. He probably finds that this soft basket (congrats and thanks for this clever idea) will be a very comforting bed !
Happy birthday to your "Knitalatte WonderShop", Margie ! This place makes us dream, so much ... Congrats to your magic hands !
And thank you for this generous giveaway, you have such a big heart, Margie ... Happy December !

[Laura]

Inspiring as always Margie.

What a great idea. Happy Etsy anniversary!

[Fiona]

Thats a lovely little tute!
Nothing in the world wrong with simple.
Beautiful.

[Rachel]

Clever way to design a reusable basket. I bet that some felt ones with a handle like the original would look great. It looks fantastic full of pompoms :)

[Shelley Noble]

Really cute! I love that you were able to adapt the cardboard design into felt. That really is something clever.

[Jennifer]

Those baskets are a great idea, Margie. Congrats on your shop anniversary, too.

[Sonia]

Oh Margie, happy birthday to your wonderful shop ! I wish you to keep creating for as long as life will be with you. :)
That basket will be on top of the things I'd love to make, but maybe not before Christmas. Probably a new year's plan. Who knows ? Anyway, thank you so much for sharing the idea & the tutorial, my friend.
And thank you for hosting such an unexpected & fun & generous giveaway ! You are so sweet to everyone. oxoxox PS : how is your wound today ?

[annri]

thank you for the tutorial, the basket is fantastic and so useful! the pompons are gorgeous in their numbers, wow. one of the notes in our advent calendar is, "let's make pompons!" we think they are fun to make too!

[Mathyld / encore petite]

I wanna take a plunge in that pompom-sea !
Fantastic tute (and giveawayyy !)

Happy Etsyversary, dear Margie
*hugs*
x x x
___mathyld___

[Rosemoo]

Lovely Basket. Simple but fun. And that's a good tutorial any day. I love that Edgar wants in the photos. Do they adore playing with the pom poms? I forget if you've said.

moo

[Katherine]

Sadly in the UK we don't get cardboard baskets like those so could you do a pattern for it?! Pretty please! ^^

[Allison]

Your felt basket is so lovely and cozy! I've never seen fruit baskets made like that, so thanks for sharing. Congratulations on the 1 year anniversary of your shop. How exciting!

[Laura F]

Thank you so much for sharing your tutorials! I plan on making quite a few as gifts and the snowflake pendant for myself. :)

[littorina.blogspot.com]

Oh I love the basket (and love its farmers' market inspiration, too)! But what I'm really excited for are the pinecone pompoms . . . :>

[Amanda]

This is such a great idea, as are all of your ideas! I'm looking forward to re-visiting past tutorials and am very excited to see what new ones you come up with!

[jessie]

happy anniversary! those would be great for produce. i hate putting plastic bags into my re-usable ones, it seems like it defeats the purpose.

[Nicki]

Oh what fun to look through all of those tutorials......I'm off to look through my buttons so I can turn them into lovely mushrooms!!

Nicki

[Lisa]

Love this basket! Thank you for all your tutorials. I also love the pinecone pompoms, for some reason they look even softer than round pompoms. Congratulations on your art show! Amazing news!

[Laela]

Thank you so much for your blog. I look at it quite often, finding inspiration in both your photos, and the wonderful creations you dream up. Thank you so very much!

[~Heather]

I need to seek out a pom pom tutorial - those multicoloured ones are very sweet! ~H

[Annie]

I love the basket, but I love the pom poms even more...I want a basket full of pom poms now!

[Rhiannon]

1. What a great idea! I am going to be searching for a box like that to use as a template now.
2. That's a generous giveaway! I hope I win.

[Rebecca Towle]

Just discovered your blog and giveaway. I love the basket for odds and ends. Why not sit around and make pompoms if you have such a nice basket to keep them in.. I think I shall..

xo bexie

[Meliors]

December 6 is my birthday! I'd love a Print from your shop.

[Margaret Oomen]

I will take the flattened basket to the photocopy shop on my next trip and reduce the size so that I can scan and the pattern. Right now it is too large to fit in my scanner and I cant wrap my tired little head around making the pattern fit.

[Jenna C.]

Thank you for this clever tutorial! I love baskets and this size and shape is so useful. And it would be great to have it in a more attractive material than cardboard!

[Kathi D]

This is perfect timing for me--I just received a box of felt samples that I ordered in all kinds of great colors. I was wondering what I was going to do with them all . . .

[julie]

What a wonderful tutorial. I need to make some of these little baskets. Love your blog.

[Joanne]

Love your pom poms and their bright cheery colors!

[Kim]

Such a perfect basket! I was just going to make some burlap buckets for xmas gifting, but I'll have to add these to the mix, too.

[Anne]

This is such a lovely little basket!! I posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-reversible-felt-basket/2009/12/02/

--anne

[mj]

I love how simple this is - not like a fabric box where you have to fiddle with interfacing and sewing in the bottom to attach it to the sides. Thanks for sharing!

[wendy]

Awesome basket! I think I'll try that.

[Sophie]

So cute and warm ! Nice job ! Thx !

[Shelly]

A great idea for sure! And congrats on your etsyiversary!

[Debi Minter]

I love the basket, especially with the yarns in it! Thank you so much for all your wonderful pictures and stories. Your blog is so inspirational!
Oh! And happy Anniversary!

[Ellen]

Yes, but sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

[Foodiebird]

I wonder where I can find felt like this? Would a craft shop or a fabric store be a better choice? This is so cute I want to make a few for my mom and sister in law!

[Margaret Oomen]

I photocopied and reduced to 75% the fruit basket and then scanned the image at home. You would need to cut two on the fold in contrasting felt or other fabric.

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[kim]

thanks for sharing! i really enjoy your blog and your art.

[tammy]

O, I want to try this. Thanks for the idea!

[Sarah]

I love the way you took an interesting shape and translated it into a new medium. The colors you chose are lovely.

[melissa]

okay, that is just awesome. thank you, margie! you're so generous.

[Eden_F]

These are very cute - since I am a total beginner crafter I am going to attempt it as a christmas present for my neice - Thank you!

P.S. Happy Birthday Knitalatte!

[Carmo]

Ohhh... I love the felt basket. Greatn idea! Than you for the tutorial.

[Suzanne]

I love the wee little felted bird. I'm new to your blog, did you make the little one? How?

[Angela]

What a beautiful basket! I'll have to make one for everyone on my gift list as soon as we can stop making little wood gnomes.