Easter egg hunt basket Embroidery Project

Gather the materials and read through these instructions before beginning. Have a copy of the color sequence on hand to refer to 

Cut a rectangle 20” long x 6 ½” wide from your outer and lining fabric. Also cut a 15 ¾” long x 4 ½” wide rectangle from your outer fabric only, this piece is for the handle.

You will also need a 6 ¾” diameter circle piece for the base. It is best to draw a template for this first so you can use that as your pattern piece. Start my marking out 6 ¾” onto a piece of paper and mark the middle of that, 3 3/8”. Then mark the 6 ¾” again in the opposite direction, ensuring to keep your centre point. Then moving your ruler around, keeping centre point, continue to mark around to form a circle. Cut out this to use for your template to cut your outer and lining fabric.

On the large rectangle outer piece of fabric, mark the centre using tailors chalk or a washaway marker

Hoop the tearaway stabilizer and outer fabric. You may wish to use a spray adhesive so the fabric lays flat against the stabilizer. Load design onto your machine and attach hoop. Stitch out the design. NOTE: I enlarged the design by 10% for this project

Remove hoop from machine, unhoop your fabric, trim threads and remove tearaway stabilizer.

From the fusible fleece cut a 20” long x 6 ½” wide rectangle, a 6 ¾” diameter circle and a 15 ¾” long x 2 ¼” wide piece. Using a hot iron, fuse the fleece to the wrong side of your outer fabric pieces. The 15 ¾” x 2 ¼” fleece piece is for the handle and only covers half of the fabric strip.

With the embroidered rectangle which forms the main section of the basket, fold it in half with right sides together and pin the short edges together. Stitch this seam, using a 10mm seam allowance

Now you have a tubular shape and you now need to mark the position of the handle which will be sewn to the sides. So lay the tube flat, with the seam facing up and position the seam so it is centered. Then you can mark the fold line on each side which indicates the sides where the handle will be sewn to

With this tubular shape, you now need to attach the circle to form the base. So with the circle base of outer fabric, which has the fleece applied to it, pin this to the bottom of the tube and suing a 10mm seam allowance sew all the way around.

With the long rectangular stripe, fold it in half right sides together and pin down the long edge. Sew this seam, using a 10mm seam allowance. Turn it through so right sides are out. Then using a 10mm seam allowance, topstitch down both sides of the handle.

Next you need to attach the handle to the sides of the basket where you placed the pins in step 9. Position the handle so it is centered to the pin, then pin the handle to the basket. Repeat for the other side then stitch it in place

Now for the lining. With right sides facing, pin then sew the short edge of the lining to form a tube. Then pin the circular base to the lining tube and sew around using a 10mm seam allowance but be sure to leave a 100mm gap so that we can turn the basket right side out later.

Place your lining inside the main basket with right sides of lining and outer together and pin then sew all the way around.

Now find the 100mm opening you left in the base of the lining, put your hand in and pull the basket right side out.

Ensuring you have the 10mm seam allowance turned under, pin the 100mm opening closed and machine stitch it closed.

You can now push the lining into the basket and smooth out as best as possible, then pin around the top edge of the basket and top stitch 10mm down from the top

Happy Easter! Your handmade egg hunt basket is complete. I hope the little kids (and big kids) you make one for enjoy it!