Spring is finally in the air! Thank goodness! There is something about a sunny day that makes my heart sing after a grey, damp and loooooong German winter. The sun and warmth sure do improve my mood and energy levels. BIG time! You too?
So, with that extra energy, you know what it is that we all tend to do each year? Spring cleaning! Get organised. Recycle what can be recycled. Throw away the accumulated crap. Tidy up.
What if you could do these things with one little sewing project?
One simple sewing project that can help you keep things organised, tidy (and cute!) is to create fabric baskets!
I published a sewing tutorial a while back, which walks you through how to make a square fabric basket step-by-step.
But what if that size fabric basket doesn’t suit you? What if you want to make a larger (or smaller) one?
I’ve seen other tutorials sharing how to make these fabric baskets in 2 different sizes. Or maybe even three.
What if I told you, that with the help of pen and paper (or maybe a calculator 😅) and this sewing tutorial here, I can show you exactly how you can make ANY size fabric storage cube you want! Then you will never be stuck for organising and tidying solutions to fit YOUR home.
Ready to get creative?
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.
This is such a fun sewing project. Once you get the hang of sewing these little storage boxes, you will want to make them en masse, for yourself, your kids, your home and your friends and family!
What Can I Store in a DIY Fabric Basket?
Anything and everything!
Want to organise keys, socks or your wool collection? 👉 Fabric basket!
Want to serve fresh bread rolls on the table? 👉 Fabric basket!
Want to tidy trinkets and treasures in the kids’ bedrooms? 👉 Fabric basket!
You see where I’m going with this, right?!?
What Fabric Should I Use to Make a Fabric Basket?
The most suitable fabrics to use are woven fabrics, such as simple woven cottons, linen or even denim.
Tip!: Dig around your fabric stash and use some fabric scraps or old fabric items.
The fabric boxes you can see in my photos have been sewn with (brand new, never been used, but stashed-away-for-years) linen curtains and an old pillow case! Basically, they’re a great way to upcycle some unused bits and pieces that have been taking up space (see, like I said: recycle AND declutter! 😉)
How to Make Different Sizes of Fabric Storage Baskets
This is where the maths comes in! Don’t start sweating though! I’m going to make it mega easy for you!
The magic is in figuring out how much fabric you need to get the basket you want! ✨
If you take a look at my original basket sewing tutorial HERE you will see that I give all the directions to sewing a square basket. The end result was that all sides measured 14 cm.
i.e., The finished basket was a cube shape 14cm high, 14cm across, and 14cm deep.
The photos in this tutorial are of me making a fabric basket 16 cm long on all sides.
Perhaps you have a shelf just yearning for a fabric box 18 cm high! Or maybe you need a little basket just 10 cm high.
Whatever size you want, it’s all in the maths!
For example, the sewing tutorial to sew that 14 cm fabric box showed that your fabric pieces would need to be 58 cm long and 23 cm high.
To make the 16 cm fabric basket in this sewing tutorial I needed to cut the fabric pieces 66 cm long and 26 cm high.
So where do these numbers even come from?
Step 1: Decide what size you want your square fabric basket to be.
Let’s stay with the 16 cm example, for the sake of showing you how you can calculate your own fabric needs.
Step 2: First to calculate the LENGTH of the fabric.
All 4 sides of the fabric box are going to be 16 cm wide, right? That means the fabric has to be width x 4.
Here: 16 cm x 4 = 64 cm.
Plus, we need to add on 1 cm seam allowance at each end of the fabric. That means 1cm x 2 = 2 cm
Add that to the previous length for the sides means 64 cm + 2 cm = 66 cm.
To sew a fabric cube whose 4 sides are each 16 cm wide, your fabric pieces need to be 66 cm long.
Step 3: Now to calculate the HEIGHT of the fabric you’ll need.
Because the fabric basket is a cube, the height will be the same length as the sides, here 16 cm.
During the sewing process, there is some folding of corners which need extra fabric allowance.
That means for this size fabric box the fabric piece needs to be: height + (½ x height).
Here: 16 cm + (½ x 16 cm) = 16 cm + (8 cm) = 24 cm
And again, we need to add on a 1 cm seam allowance on both the top and bottom edge of the fabric piece. That means another 2 cm.
So, to sew a fabric cube that is also 16 cm high the height of the fabric needs to be 24 cm + 2 cm = 26 cm high.
And that’s it! Use the calculation to decide exactly how much fabric you need for ANY SIZE box you want to make!
The sewing technique is identical, no matter what sized fabric basket you want to sew. AND the seam allowance is now included in your sewing pattern!
Supplies you need to make your fabric storage basket
Using your GENIUS maths calculations 💪, you need one piece of outside fabric, one piece of lining fabric and one piece of fusible interfacing (firm, but with some volume) each cut to that size.
You’ll also need the basic equipment: thread, sewing machine, fabric scissors, ruler/tape measure, sewing pins/clips, fabric marker, iron.
Easy Fabric Basket Sewing Tutorial
For the full tutorial, take a look at the complete instructions HERE.
For a quick summary, the photos below show you the key steps you’ll need to do as you work through this sewing project.
Design Ideas for Your Fabric Basket
Here are a couple more suggestions how you can achieve your ideal basket “look”.
Idea #1: Make a Reversible Basket
When it comes time to sewing closed the opening used to turn the basket right sides out, instead of using your sewing machine, simply use a ladder stitch (aka invisible stitch) to hand sew it closed. That way all stitches are hidden and you can reverse the basket whenever it takes your fancy for a new look!
Idea #2: Edge Stitch around the top rim of the basket
Not only does edge stitching help reinforce the top edge of the basket, it can also be used as a highlight. Try using a contrasting thread colour or fancy stitches as an embellishment.
Idea #3: Fold over the top edge of the basket
Nothing Beats a cute fabric basket with a folded rim! That way you can enjoy both the outer and lining fabrics at the same time! Pep up the look with some fabulous fabric combinations.
Once you see that your maths and sewing skills have worked as planned, there’ll be no stopping you! Whether it be sewing, Spring cleaning, or both! 😉
What will you use YOUR fabric baskets for?
