Woven Burlap Basket & Fabric Flower Tutorials

Hello Everyone!  I hope this past weekend was enjoyed by all.  I got to spend some time with family, friends and finish a project or two.  So overall, I'd say it was a great weekend!

Today I am going to share a double tutorial.  Part 1 will be a burlap woven basket and Part 2 will be the twisted fabric flowers that embellish it.  Together, they make the sweet little project pictured above.



Woven Burlap Basket

1. I took some burlap fabric and an old cotton pillowcase.  I fused them together using a Stitch Witchery product that comes in a big sheet.  This gave my burlap more stability and kept it from fraying too much.  It also helped having the fabric ironed out  nice and flat.

2. Next cut the fabric into even strips.  I used my rotary cutter and cut them all the width of my ruler which was about 1 inch wide.  That way, there was no measuring needed.

3. Start weaving the bottom.

4. Make sure you put the strips nice and snug to each other so you don't end up with gaps in your basket.

5.  Keep adding strips until the base is as large as you would like it to be.  I used a dot of hot glue to tack my strips in place.  It made it way easier to work with.

6. One important tip; make sure the number of strips you use for the base equals an even number.  Mine is 4x4(=8) strips.  You can do 3x3(=6), 7x5(=12), 8x8(=16)... as long as they equal an even number when added together.  If they don't, you wont be able to weave the sides properly.

7. Fold up the sides of the loose ends from the base of the basket and start weaving around the basket. 

8. Once you have gone all the way around, cut off the excess and tack the ends of the strip in place.  Try to do it in an inconspicuous place.

9.  Continue weaving the basket sides until it is the desired height.  I did mine 4 strips high.  Cut off excess strips so the top is even all around.

10. I used some of the leftover fabric from the pillow case to trim the top of the basket, cover the cut edges and give it a more finished look.







Twisted Fabric Flowers

1. To make a twisted fabric flower, take a long strip of leftover fabric from the pillowcase you used previously for the basket.  Mine was approximately a metre in length.

2. Hold one end or have someone hold one end for you and start twisting the fabric really tight, until it eventually folds in half on itself and twists together.

... like this...see how it folded in half on itself and twisted together?

3. Start rolling the fabric into a coil starting with the end that folded over onto itself.  Dab with hot glue as you roll the flower.

... keep rolling....

4. Tuck the tail ends under the bottom of the flower and glue in place.  Ta-da!

Finally I hot glued the twisted flowers to the finished woven basket in a nice little grouping of three.

You could just as easily add a braided burlap handle and voila... an Easter basket!  I think it would be awesome with a fun patterned fabric as the liner as well.  If you don't have burlap, try something else.  There are no rules... just have fun!  I made this one for my Mom, so I went fairly neutral making it soft and pretty looking.  Lovely!