Fabric Bunny Basket

Materials

• Iron
• Fabric scissors or rotary cutter
• Vanishing fabric marker
• Hand-sewing needle
• Fabri-Tac adhesive
• Pink embroidery floss
• Heavyweight fusible interfacing
• Felt (white, blue, and pink)
• Scissors
• Tape
• Cotton fabric
• Bunny basket template 1
• Bunny basket template 2
• Legal-sized paper
• Sewing pins
• Scalloped fabric scissors
• Sewing machine
• White pompom
• Chopstick (optional)                    

Steps

1. Step 1

   Download and print out both templates on legal-sized paper. Cut out patterns with scissors and tape ear pieces together as indicated.

2. Step 2

   With fabric scissors or a rotary cutter and using the "Basket Side" pattern as a guide, cut out one rectangle from cotton fabric, one from white felt, and one from heavyweight fusible interfacing. In each instance, fold your fabric in half, place the dashed line of the pattern on the fold, trace, and cut out. The resulting rectangles of fabric should be twice the length of the pattern (6 3/8 by 21 inches).

3. Step 3

   To add rigidity to the cotton and to prevent fraying when cutting, use an iron to attach fusible interfacing to wrong side of cotton fabric as directed on interfacing packaging.

4. Step 4

   With a vanishing fabric marker, trace the "Bunny Face" template in the center of the rectangle of white felt. Cut 2 eyes from blue felt and a nose from pink felt and attach these to the face using Fabri-Tac adhesive. Using a needle threaded with pink embroidery floss, embroider the mouth onto the face using a backstitch.

5. Step 5

   Layer felt and interfacing-backed cotton rectangles, right sides facing out, and secure with pins. Using scalloped fabric scissors, trim the top long edge of the rectangles.

6. Step 6

   To make ears, cut 2 ear shapes from both the cotton fabric and the white felt. With right sides facing, sew cotton and felt together with a 1/4-inch seam allowance, leaving openings in the seam as indicated on the pattern.

7. Step 7

   Turn both ears right side out and, using a needle and thread, sew seam opening closed with a slipstitch. With an iron, press both ears flat. (Tip: To get a perfect point in each of the ears, use a chopstick or knitting needle to push out the seam.)

8. Step 8

   Insert 1 inch of the bottom of each ear in between cotton and felt rectangles, along the scalloped edge, 4 1/2 inches in from each side (as indicated on the "Basket Side" pattern) and pin in place. The felt side of the ears should be facing down.

9. Step 9

   On a sewing machine, sew both long edges of the rectangles together, with a 3/8-inch seam allowance, securing the ears in place.

10. Step 10

    With the white felt rectangle on the inside, pin short edges of rectangle together to form a tube. Sew these edges together with a 3/8-inch seam allowance. Turn tube right side out, making sure the face is on the outside of the basket.

11. Step 11

    Using the "Basket Bottom" pattern as a guide, cut out a 7-inch circle of white felt. Secure into bottom of basket by inserting pins from the outside of the tube. On the sewing machine, sew bottom circle to basket along bottom edge of tube.

Step 12

For the tail, use a needle and thread (or Fabri-Tac) to attach a white pompom to the bottom back of the basket. Tie ears together to form a handle and fill basket as desired.