DIY Simple Fabric Basket Tutorial

How to Make a Fabric Storage Bin. Fabric Basket Tutorial: How to Make Fabric Basket. I used a slightly different corner technique for my fabric baskets.

Today, I wanted to show you how I did it.
The sewing method is actually quite simple and quick—something I always appreciate.

 Start with two pieces of fabric: In my example, I used oilcloth and a woven cotton fabric—if you want to use woven fabric for both layers, you should reinforce one side with H250 interfacing. 

I used dimensions of 50 cm x 25 cm here, but other sizes work too (depending on how large you want the finished organizer to be*). Fold both pieces in half along the long edge, wrong sides together.

Then, measure half the depth of the base starting from the fold (in this case, the base is to be approximately 10x10 cm, so I measured 5 cm). Fold the fabric downwards along this (imaginary) line.

Turn the fabric over and measure 5 cm from the fold on the other side as well; fold the fabric downwards along this (imaginary) line. The bottom edge of the fabric will then look like this.

Repeat the same folding process with the other piece of fabric. Now sew both pieces of fabric together along the left and right sides (see the line marked with the pen).

After sewing, you can take a moment to admire these somewhat unusual corners.

From there, proceed just as you would with a standard fabric basket. Turn one of the pieces inside out and nest the two pieces together, right sides facing. Make sure the side seams align—I always position the seam allowances on opposite sides so it’s easier to sew over them.

Sew the two pieces together along the top edge, leaving an opening for turning. Turn the organizer right side out.

Finally, insert one part into the other, shape it, and topstitch close to the edge all the way around—this closes the turning opening. 

The organizer is now complete, made with a total of just six seams.

I hope you enjoyed this and find the instructions useful.

*Here is how I calculated the fabric dimensions:

Fabric width:
For a base area of ​​10 cm x 13 cm (desired depth d = 10; desired width w = 13):
Calculate the fabric width as follows:
d + w + (2 x SA) -> so 10 cm + 13 cm + 2 cm = 25 cm

Fabric length:
For this, you need to know the desired height of the organizer—in this example, a height of 19 cm (h = 19). Calculate the length as follows:
2 x h + d + (2 x SA) -> so 2 x 19 cm + 10 cm + 2 cm = 50 cm

Another calculation example:
I want an organizer that is 10 cm wide, 10 cm deep, and 15 cm high:
so: w = 10 cm; d = 10 cm; and h = 15
Plugging these into the formula:
Fabric width (d + w + 2 x SA) -> 10 cm + 10 cm + 2 cm = 22 cm
Fabric length (2 x h + d) -> 2 x 15 cm + 10 cm + 2 cm = 42 cm



PS: I didn't invent these instructions myself—there's no need to reinvent the wheel, and similar tutorials almost certainly already exist online.