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Basket Liner

May 11, 2009 - By Ashley Johnston 20 Comments

If you’d like to know how to line one of your billion baskets you have cluttering up your house, you’re in the right spot.

Now seriously, you can tie together a whole bunch of random baskets by lining them with matching fabric. It’s quite a beautiful thing.

All you’ll need is some fabric, a sewing machine, and some thread. Oh, and square rectangle basket.

First, you’ll measure from how far down you’d like the liner to go over one edge (I did 2 inches), up to the top, down the side, across the bottom, up the other side to the top and then over 2 inches or however far you’d like it to go. Then you’ll add another 1 1/2 inches for your casing for the tie. For example, mine measured 26 inches from one side, up and over and down and back up and over again. Then I added another 1 1/2 inches onto both sides for the casing to make it 29 inches.

Then measure the width of your inner basket. Mine was 15 inches wide. Add 1/2 inch onto both ends for a seam allowance…….which made mine 16 inches.

So I cut out my main piece at 29 x 16 inches.

Then measure the dimensions of the ends of your basket. The width of my ends were 10 inches and I added a 1/2 inch on each side for a seam allowance, making it 11 inches. And the height of my ends are 6 inches. So I added a half inch to the bottom for the seam allowance, 2 inches to the top to be folded over the edge, and then another 1 1/2 inches to make the casing for the tie.

So I cut 2 end pieces that are 11 x 10 inches.

Then I found the center of my main piece (on the 29 inch side) and marked it with a pin. And then I found the center of one of the end pieces (on the 11 inch side) and put the two pieces of fabric together, with right sides together.

Then I pinned all along the 11 inch side (the width of the basket end) until the corners.

Then I folded the extra sides of the main piece down along the sides of the the end pieces and pinned them into place, making a nice corner with both pieces of fabric. (Man, this is hard to explain…..but keep with me. It’s not so hard to do!!)

Sew into place. Then do a zig-zag stitch right next to your main stitch, to help keep everything secure and in place.

Do the same thing to the other end.

Now, trim any excess/uneven edges.

Now find the center of one side (of the long sides) and make a cut 2 1/2 inches up.

Zig-zag stitch both of these raw edges.

Then fold over and pin.

Now fold over the entire upper edge a 1/2 inch and then another 1 inch to make your casing. Sew close to the first fold, securing your casing into place.

Now you’ll make a tie by cutting out a piece of fabric that is 1 1/2 inches wide by however long your basket is around at the upper edge. Also, make it long enough to be able to tie a bow. I made mine 70 inches long so I cut out a piece of fabric that was 70 x 1 1/2 inches.

First fold your end in 1/4 inch and then fold each side in towards the middle (iron in place if needed)…..