the one hour basket reviewed (and improved)

If you read my blog post yesterday, I reviewed two baskets tutorials. They are very excellent tutorials to be checked out!  But, I still wasn't totally happy with my baskets. These were going to become my Christmas presents for the year, and I wanted to get them right for all of my friends and family.

I made another version of the one hour basket from Kelby. This time using the heaviest stabilizer available here in Germany - S 520, Vliesoline. I thought it worked much better to give the basket the stability it needed to hold its shape and purpose of a stairs' basket (that accumulates everything from the house). I also bought some heavy, home decor fabric which is actually cheaper here than quilting fabric.

Different Trial Versions in Production

If you look at the gray baskets closely, that one on the far right was my first try with the heavy stabilizer and the home decor fabric. I used a medium weight stabilizer (Vliesoline S320) on the light, print fabric and a heavyweight (S 520) on the lower, gray, dotty fabric. Since this stabilizer is three times more expensive than "regular" I thought this would be a good compromise. The shape became very solid, maybe even too solid! It is extremely hard to maneuver the basket under the sewing machine after the bottom is sewn shut and you are trying to attach the inner and outer layers.

On the second gray basket (the next gray one you see to the left, sandwiched between the two red baskets), I top stitched 1/4" above the area where the print and dotty fabrics are sewn together. This definitely gives the basket character! I also top stitched 1/4" from the top of the basekt to keep the inner shell in place. This seam is originally sews 1/2" seam allowance, but you can definitely top stitch lower than 1/8" from the top. I also attached the handles with a one-inch spacing from the center seam making the handles ends two inches apart.

Okay, these were looking even better, and I wanted a little diversity with a fabric change. I used the "red/orange" fabric (also home decor and washed!) with a medium weight stabilizer (Vliesoline S320) on all segments of the basket except the inner lining. This worked out even better! It gave the basket enough stiffness to stay flat, but was much easier to sew under the machine when it came to attaching both the inner lining and outer shell together.

The upper "linen-look" fabric I pressed downwards this time instead of upwards and top stitched on the bottom area with a beige cotton thread. I think it makes the basket look very professional! I didn't want to quilt a lot on this basket, because this is supposed to be a speedy project for Christmas, right? Even though I spent several days (one week) to perfect my "gift basket," it was worth it! Just think, I worked out all of the bugs for you to get started on your holiday baskets!

I have added a TWO-page cheat-sheet of how I constructed my basket. Go ahead and start scoping out some beautiful home decor fabric (heavyweight) for the outer shells and quilting quality fabric (lightweight) for the insides. You can download the cheat sheet on my FREE DOWNLOADS page. Donations are kindly welcomed and accepted. THANK YOU!.

And if you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, happy Thanksgiving!! We will be celebrating on the weekend when we have time to enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by for the second part of the one-hour basket review!

v-day 2014

Just another day or two until V-Day or Valentine's Day - one of the most favorite holidays for a woman next to Mother's Day. Are you excited? I am!

I got a little inspired this month from my doll quilt swap. Our monthly theme was/is "love letters." Let me tell you, it is extremely hard to find sweet Valentine's fabrics over here in Germany. So, I requested a few different prints from Jo-Ann Fabrics from a secret source. I went with the theme and designed this cute 3-D Valentine's Day Envelope Wall Hanging for the whole family. There is one envelope per family member. We can drop little love notes whenever we want. I think I will put in a chocolate lolly in the pockets for the kids on Friday morning. Maybe my hubby will put something in there for me too! -)

My swap partner likes cats and batik prints. Do you think she is going to like this? I don't! That is why she will be getting her own special "love letter" exchange quilt quite different than the one featured here.

If you are interested in how I made this wall hanging, please drop me a note and I could tell you all about it. I might even send you some free templates. ;-)

Oh, by the way, I finally figured out how to fix my "no-reply" blogger problem - just delete your Google+ Account! 

 Happy Valentine's Day!