A patchwork quilt started out as a regular quilt that eventually got holes in it. Someone who couldn’t afford a new quilt would simply sew a scrap of fabric over the hole. After awhile, there were many patches on it, thus, the patchwork quilt. But it’s inevitable that a quilt, washed many times, will become unusable anymore. Of course, you can always cut the quilt up and make other things from it. A patchwork quilt has a homey feel that is appropriate for more than just a bed. In fact, you can give that same, comfy feel to a basket – or a set of baskets – to give them an entirely different look, while giving the old quilt a new purpose.
There are lots of baskets you could use, including a wicker basket or a plastic one. There’s an easy way to cut the quilt so that the piece will fit perfectly into the chosen basket. First, lay the basket upside-down on the quilt. Draw around it with chalk or a pencil. Then, measure the depth of the basket, draw a second perimeter, that many inches away from the first drawing, all the way around. So, if your basket is circular, draw the first circle around the upside-down basket, then draw another circle around that one, spacing the two apart at the amount indicated by the depth measurement. Add an inch or two to the depth measurement so that the quilt can be pulled out and over the rim of the basket. If your basket is a square or rectangular one, draw that shape, then draw the second shape around it.
Make sure that, when you’re cutting a quilt piece for the chosen basket, you avoid any holes or stains that might be on the quilt. After cutting the piece for your basket, lay it in there, and bring the edges over the lip of the basket, all the way around. If you want, remove the quilt piece, apply some hot glue to the bottom of the basket, and place the quilt piece back inside. Hot glue the edges of the quilt piece to the outside of the basket, just below the lip.
To make a version of the quilt basket liner that can be removed and washed cut the piece from the quilt, then sew narrow elastic around the edges. This basket liner can be taken out and laundered as you would have washed the original quilt.
The quilt baskets are so pretty and very useful. They can hold cosmetics, wash cloths, craft supplies – even fresh bread. If you have an old quilt you no longer use cut it up to make an entire set of matching baskets with many uses.
Quilt Basket