Picnic Basket

I love this basket.  It was so easy to make and so fun to use.  It's something I've always wanted to have and actually having one now makes me want to go it the park in pretty dresses, eat watermelon and pb&j and watch the clouds go by.

Ok, no watermelon this time, but a nice apple and homemade jam will do just fine.

Want to do that too?

It's easy and you probably have most of this stuff lying around your house.

Materials:

Large basket

Cardboard (I used a small office file sized one, but it will depend on how big your basket is)

1/2-3/4 yard fabric

1/2-3/4 yard quilt batting

Fabric scraps for front/back and side ties

hot glue

ric-rac (optional)

Construction:

1.  Put your basket face down on top of your cardboard and trace.  If your basket has a handle like mine, do have at a time on the edge of a table so the handle can hang off.  You want this piece to be slightly smaller than the basket, so that it rests right inside the ridge when closed.

2.  Cut out the traced shape and lay on a slightly larger piece of cardboard.  Tape two markers or pencils together and trace onto the larger piece.  This is so that the top of the lid will hang over the basket ridge like a lip.  The ridges on the side of mine are for the handles because the handles on my basket jut inwards on the inside of the basket, so I needed to accommodate for them.  

 

3.  Use a ruler and pencil to mark a 2 inch section out of the middle of the smaller cardboard lid piece.  Cut it out so that you now have 3 pieces.  Two smaller half lids and one large lid.  On the large lid, take and exacto kinfe and very carefully perforate  the middle so that it bends on either side of the handles.  If you look carefully at the photo, on the larger piece of cardboard there is a green line towards the middle.  This is where I made my cut and directly opposite of that as well (2 perforations total). 

4.  Take each piece of cardbaord and lay it on the wrong side of a batting and fabric piece (trimmed to be about 2 inches larger on every side).   

5.  Starting with the batting, glue to the cardboard to cover completely.  Repeat the same steps with the fabric.  I used the same method as I did in the Rosette Letters.  Repeat this step on all 3 cardboard pieces.  On the large top piece, be sure you pull the fabric around the cardboard very tightly to ensure it doesn't pucker strangely when you open and close the lid.  

 

**I had more pictures of these next steps but they are MIA.  I can't find them on my computer anywhere.

6. Sew two long strips (mine were about 30" each) of fabric to create your two front and back ties to keep the basket open or closed.  You could also use ribbon.  

7.  Take the fabric strips and fold in half.  Glue the middle (folded part) to the curved edge of one of the smaller cardboard pieces on the wrong side, or the side where the fabric is not covering it completely.  Repeat for the other tie and other small cardboard piece.

8.  Take the larger cardboard piece and lay right side down so that you are looking at the side with all of the glue.  Lay a smaller piece of cardboard on top covering the glue mess with the right side facing outwards.  Be sure it lines up with the perforations and that it doesn't cover them.  We want the lid to bend.  You can see what it will look like in the picture below.  With the tie coming out the middle and the fabric covered sides showing when the basket is open and when it is closed.  

8.  I glued on the ric-rac about 1/2 inch from the edges on the inside and outside of the lid.

To create the lining, I used a similar method as the one in my Vintage Inspired Easter Basket.  

1.  I traced the bottom of the basket.

2.  Cut it out and made sure it fit in the inside. 

3.  I added about 1/2 inch when I cut out the fabric to account for seams.  I measure the height and added 5 inches so that the fabric would come over the edges.  Like the Vintage Easter Basket, I cut out two strips of fabric for the sides.  BUT...before sewing any of the lining together serge around all edges or zig-zag and cut.  

4.  When you sew the short ends of the side pieces together, leave about 7 inches un-sewn at the top to fit around the handles.  

5.  I added ribbon to each end to tie around the handles. 

6.  Then attach it to the bottom piece.  

 

Now you have you beautiful picnic basket with a functional lid!  Take it to the park and bask in the sun. 

 If you're lucky, you'll have a lot of cleaning up to do after your little one destroys the lunch you  brought. 

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