felt easter baskets

Recently I came across these adorable felt buckets for Easter at Target. They're only $2 apiece, but with my burgeoning sewing skills and the remnant bin at Joann's, I figured I could make three of these for even less.

 Target's

 

Mine

Supplies:

• Felt
• Fabric stiffener
• Sewing machine
• Flower pot or small bucket for template
• Paper/tape/scissors to make template
• Fabric glue
• Embellishments (ribbon, felt, embroidery thread, etc.)

 

To start, you need to make a template. I came across this idea from Make It and Love It: tape two pieces of paper together and wrap them around your flower pot/bucket prototype. Fold the edges around the bottom/top and mark the edges. After you remove the paper from around the pot, cut along the lines, and you'll have the template. You also need a template for the base - trace around the bottom and cut the template about half an inch bigger around. You can make the handle however long and thick you like...

Start by folding the bucket piece in half (inside out), pin, and then sew close to the edge. Then flip it and press the seam flat, and you've got your bucket shape.

At this point I painted on some fabric stiffener with a foam brush to make it a bit sturdier. Once my stiffened bucket was dry, I applied some fabric glue around the inside of the bottom and placed the circle inside.

 Once that set, I attached handle (which I had embellished with ribbon & fabric glue).

And while the above were drying/setting, I cut some egg shapes out of another felt color and decorated them with some embroidery thread. These got glued on with fabric glue at the very end.

End result - three cute Easter baskets for about $2  - that was just the cost of my remnant piece of felt since the rest I dug out form my craft stash (aside from the fabric stiffener, but I was planning on buying that for some other potential projects anyway). That means a savings of $4, which means more candy to put inside!