Learning to make a fabric basket

I took some time to play this week. Since I've signed up to Bluprint (Craftsy) for the next year, I thought that I should actually make something. So here is my experience making a basket from Christina Cameli's Free-Motion Quilted Gifts course.

My first FMQ fabric basket

This is what Christina's basket looks like. Isn't it gorgeous?

Christina Cameli's Free-Motion Quilted basket

As you can see, my basket is shorter and not as firm. I learned a lot though and had fun making it 😊

My finished basket

Free Motion Quilting the fabric
I made a sandwich with batting (more on this later), marked some lines for a grid, FMQ the triangles and then quilted inside alternate triangles. I really like the look of the quilted fabric.

Here's a close-up of the free motion quilted fabric for the basket.

Quilted fabric

The bottom of the basket

Making handles

I made my own handles using an old lanyard since I didn't have any pretty webbing. I cut the lanyard the same length that the web would have been. I then cut the fabric 2 inches wide and slightly longer than the lanyard (I'd rather trim it than not have enough). I pressed both long sides of the fabric ¼", placed the lanyard inside one of the pressed sides and then covered the rest of the lanyard. I sewed the fabric over the lanyard and then trimmed both handles. It really worked out well.

Making matching handles using an old lanyard.

What I learned

• If you want a stiff basket, you need to use stiff batting!!!!! That really should have been obvious and I did think about it but I'm lazy and the silk batting was right there, waiting to be used. 
• It quilted up beautifully.😊
• I'm very happy with the handles - re-purposing lanyards is a great way to make the handles. It's not like the contents in the basket will weigh that much!
• I wrote most of this last post last night, and it only came to me this morning that I hadn't followed the instructions properly. I'm quite sure that I didn't fold the quilted fabric properly, and therefore my basket is shorter and wider than Christina's.
• Now that I've made this first basket, I think that I would like to make a couple more as Christmas gifts. I'm going to have to experiment with batting though and figure out if I want the basket higher, as it was intended.
• I've taken a couple of FMQ courses with Christina Cameli on Craftsy. I really enjoy her courses, including this one.

My basket is full of beautiful Japanese and New Zealand
fabrics from Kallisti Quilts of Waterloo Ontario

Related links

• Free Motion Quilted Gifts with Bluprint (Craftsy)
• Christina Cameli
• Kallisti Quilts
• Post featuring Christina Cameli and her Wild Quilting class
• Learning QAL - October Goal Setting Link-up, October 1, 2017
• Learning QAL - September Sum Up, September 25, 2017

Linking parties

Remember to link up
with Muv this week!

I'll be linking up to some great linky parties. Let's go see what's happening! It's also the end of the month, so there will be lovely parties, including New to Me 2019 with Celtic Thistle Stitches and DrEAMi with mmm! quilts. What I Made Monday, Colour and Inspiration Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down, TGIFF, Free Motion Mavericks with Muv, To-Do Tuesday,

Project details

FMQ fabric basket
Pattern and instructions by Christina Cameli
8½: x 6" x 4¼"
Techniques: FMQ, sewing
Material: lanyard, cotton