Spring Basket Liner

Sewing a liner for an old basket to give it new life and purpose:

1. Gather spring-like fabrics and old baskets to pick from.

2. Draw around the bottom of the basket and add 1 inch to allow for seams. Cut out.
    
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3. Measure around the outside top of the basket and write that down. Do not measure towards the bottom. Most baskets get larger as you go up towards the top so you need to make the fabric the size of the biggest part. Now measure how deep the basket is and write that down.

4. Cut a piece of material as wide as the depth of the basket plus 1 inch and as long as the top measurement around the basket plus 1 inch. This is for the sides of the inside of basket.
    

5. Right sides together, sew the end using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Divide this piece into fourths by marking with pins or a pencil. Also, divide and mark the circle into fourths and mark with pins. Now match the 4 marks on the circle piece to the 4 marks on the rectangle piece and pin. Sew around slowly and carefully to ease the extra fabric and make the gathers even all around the circle piece for the bottom. Fit to see if it's correct size.
    
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6. Measure the width of the rim part of the basket and also all around it. Cut your fabric for this piece 3 times the width. Mine was 2" so I used a piece 6 inch wide. Cut it as long as you need, add 2 inches just to be sure. Cut this piece into 2 pieces and put a small turned hem on all 4 ends. Pin it to the top of the piece that is the inside. Sew again easing evenly and making gathers all around. There will be an opening where the handles are attached to the basket. That's why we cut the long piece we are now sewing into 2 pieces. The ends of this piece, where you put in a small hem, will lay slightly over each other when they are being sewn all around the top of the basket. They will be across from each other on the liner and this is where the handles of the basket will be.
    
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7. On the top of this piece sew a small pocket all around to insert 1/8 inch elastic into using a safety pin. Cut the elastic the size around the outside of basket approximately where the fabric will lay. In my case it was right under the rim of my basket. Cut the elastic in half and insert into the casing using a safety pin to guide it through. Sew the elastic at the end careful not to let it slip back into the casing.
    

8. Make 4 ties and sew to the ends at the point where the elastic was stitched. These will be tied by the handles.

9. Place the liner into the basket and add your own toy or treats and use for Easter or whatever. I have one I use to put my many spools of thread in.

Hope it wasn't hard to understand. Enjoy!

By Donna