Hanging Fabric Baskets Or Pockets

I know I say this every time, but I am so excited about this project! The possibilities are endless! And they are so easy – I am going to have baskets hanging all around my house in a weeks time.  I am using these above my sewing desk to hold all my notions and patterns.  First I will show you how to make them, then I will tell you all the ways I think you could use them…then you can tell me all the ways I never thought of!

Hanging Baskets Or Pockets

Supplies:

• Fabric – how much you need depends on how big and how many you make, we’ll go over this
• Heavy weight interface lining – you want it stiff enough to hold its shape
• All your sewing stuff
• Curtain rod or wooden dowel with brackets to hang it on

Cutting out fabric:

To make one basket you need two pieces identical in size.  Example: if you want to end up with around a 4 inch cube like basket, your fabric piece would need to be 13 inches long to account for the for the front, bottom, and back with a fold on top; the width would need to be 8 ½ inches to account for the sides, front and seam.  After you make one it will be really easy to determine your cuts but I will give you my measurements that I used for mine as a guide:

• Large pocket: 12 inches wide and 20 inches long.
• Smaller basket: 8 inches wide and 14 inches long, one only 12 inches long.
• Smallest basket: 7 inches wide and 12 inches long.
• Scrap pieces for the part you will use to hang them from, we’ll talk about these later

So you have two pieces of fabric the same size right?  Now you need to cut the interfacing the same size for both pieces and iron those on according to the instructions.

What I did to make it easy on myself was iron all my pieces onto one big piece of pellon and then cut it out.

Now you should have two pieces the same size with interfacing ironed on.

Fold in half right sides together, and sew up the sides with a ¼ inch seam like shown.

Now stand that piece up and fold down the corner like shown and mark where you will sew.  How far you go in depends on how wide you want the bottom of your basket to be.  I wanted mine all uniform so I measured in 1½ inches on all four of mine.  Hint: line up your seam with the bottom fold on the inside to make sure you have it square.

Now sew the corners shut like shown.  Do not cut off, they will stiffen up the bottom for you.  Make sure to back-stitch!  Repeat these steps on the other piece of fabric.

Now turn the piece that you intend on having on the outside right side out (you can press the seams if you want), and leave the other right side in.  Place the inside piece into the outer shell, line up the seams and fold those corners under so they sit on the bottom.  Then fold the top of the outer piece in about a ½ inch, and fold the inside piece out about ¾ of an inch just so the folds overlap at least a ¼ inch.

It should look like this.  Oh it’s already looking cute!  And your almost done.  So easy huh?

Now we will make our little hanging piece.  You can eyeball this part, just keep in mind you want it about the same length as the bottom of the basket and three inches long, this will make the top square up.  I did iron on some interfacing, but you wouldn’t have to.  Sew the sides like shown to make a clean edge.

Then fold in half and put in between your inner and outer pieces.

Make sure about an inch is left out as shown and then pin in place.

Now sew all three together!  Just sew right along the top of the outer piece making sure to catch the hanging piece.

Your done!  Isn’t it cute, and easy?!  Now just hang them!

A few notes on the rod you use:  I tried to use a fancier rod like this but the brackets for it were a little too far from the wall…

So I went with one that hung closer like this.  You could easily buy these brackets (they have them for separate purchase buy the curtain rods) and a small wooden dowel to use for just hanging one basket rather then multiple ones.

Now, all the ways you could use these:

1. You could make a bunch of smaller ones and hang above a changing table in a baby’s room for a pop of color, and storage.
2. You could make a few of pockets like my big one and hang them individually one above the other for kids’ books in the play room, just use the wooden dowels like I talked about.
3. You could make one pocket and hang by a chair for your magazines
4. You could make some to hang by the door for “mail in” and “mail out” or with your kids names on them for paper work.

Seriously, the possibilities are endless…anywhere you are looking for a softer look rather than a wooden shelf.  Perfect for adding color and texture to a room don’t you think?