Fabric Bunny Basket - Free Pattern

Spring is my favorite time of year. When I was a kid, I always equated it with my birthday and Easter. Two celebrations that meant lots of treats and lots of family time. 

So to kick off this Easter season, I'm sharing with you how to make this cute fabric bunny basket. It's perfect for filling with treats or goodies and giving to a grandchild or anyone else. 

Bonus, this container also works great as a bread basket for your Easter meal. Since it's lined with batting, the batting will help keep bread warm. Keep reading because I have a rare treat for each of you. 

Here is the free downloadable fabric bunny basket pattern. Print the pattern at full scale or if you want a doll bunny basket, shrink the pattern down by at least 75%.


Supplies needed:

• batting
• coordinating thread
• embroidery floss, white, black and pink
• (1) 3" white pom pom
• 1 /4 yard of fabric
• 1/4 yard fabric for lining
• 1/4 yard of light to medium weight interfacing
• 1/4 yard of heavy weight interfacing for the bottom of the basket

Directions:

Using the pattern above, cut out all the pattern pieces.
For the handle, cut out a 5" x piece from the lining fabric.
*1/4" seams unless otherwise noted.

1.  Sew ear lining to ear fabric, right sides facing.
2.  Turn right side out and clip the curves.  Iron. Top stitch around the ear.
3.   Fold the bottom of the ear in half.  Sew 3/4" up from the bottom & 1/4" from the edge.
4.  Your bunny ears will now look like this.
5.  Hand embroider the face onto the bunny's head. Pin interfacing & then batting onto the head.
6.  Baste in place.
7.  Pin the sides to the bunny's head.  Sew in place.
8.  Baste the ears onto both sides of the side seams.
9.  Pin the bunny sides and head to the bottom, easing as necessary.

10. Trim interfacing & batting down by a little less than 1/4". Baste interfacing &  batting onto bottom of lining. Add batting & interfacing to the sides of the lining. With the lining fabric, repeat steps 7 & 9.
11.  Add interfacing to the handle fabric.  Take the handle fabric and iron it in half width wise.  Fold the width in toward the ironed fold and iron the raw edges. When finished the handle's raw edges will be in the center of the handle. Top stitch both edges of the handle.
12.  Sew the handle edges onto the middle of the fabric basket.
13.  Right sides together, handle tucked into the middle, pin the lining to the basket.  Sew around the basket's top edge, leaving a 2" opening to turn the basket.
14.  Turn the basket right side out.  Iron the edges.
15.  Top stitch around the edge of the basket.
16.  Hand sew the pom pom to the back, bottom edge of the basket.
17.  Completed front view.
18.  Completed back view.

Now it's time to fill that basket with old fashion goodness.
 

Here is my little treat for you (so thanks for reading if you got this far)! This recipe is my husband's grandmother's recipe for potato yeast rolls. And they are divine!

My husband remembers having contests with his cousins and brothers to see who could eat the most rolls. These rolls are soft, light and melt in your mouth kind of good. (Add butter, cinnamon and sugar and the dough works great for making cinnamon rolls too.)
   

Grandma Cox's Potato Yeast Rolls

1/3 c. warm water
2 packages of yeast
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. milk
1/2 c. shortening
8-9 c. flour
1 medium potato
2 tsp. salt

Add yeast to warm water.  Stir until dissolved.  Stir into yeast and water the sugar. 

(This is a great way to test your yeast and make sure it’s working…the sugar will make the yeast foam).

Peel the potato, dice into pieces.  Boil 1 potato in 1 1/2 c. of boiling water (until the pieces are really soft). 

Do not drain off any water which has not boiled out of the potatoes!

Add milk and shortening.  Beat until really smooth.

Add 2 tsp. salt and yeast mixture.

Stir in flour.  When the mixture is too thick & you can’t stir any longer, start kneading the flour into the dough.  Do not add too much flour, the mixture will feel a little sticky. 

Spray a bowl with cooking spray.  Add the dough into the bowl.  Cover the dough with a clean tea towel.  Let the dough rise in a warm spot.  About 1-2 hours.

Roll the dough out until it’s around 1/2” thick.  Cut out your rolls using a round cookie cutter.  Dip one side in melted butter and fold over.  Place onto a cookie sheet.  Cover your rolls with a clean tea towel and let rise again until double in size.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

Throw these rolls in your new bunny basket and your Easter is off to a really good, yummy start! Enjoy Easter with your family.  xoxo Grandma

Belle's Dress & Her Cape

Right before my granddaughter's third birthday, she requested a Belle dress. My daughter ordered her one online but when it arrived, it was not at all what the product photo showed. I received a pleading phone call from this daughter to see if I'd be willing to help make my granddaughter's birthday wish come true.  

How could I refuse?

After I finished this Belle dress, I was FaceTiming with my daughter to show her how the dress turned out. I told her, "What she really needs is a cape to coordinate with the dress."  Right about then, this cutie - who was supposed to be in bed - waltzes down with a blanket wrapped around her head holding the blanket like it's a cape. We both laughed and my daughter declared that she is constantly making her blanket into a cape. So, the next day, I knew what I needed to do. I designed a Belle cape from two patterns, sewed it and then added to the birthday box. As a bonus, I made a red Belle cape for her little sister. 

Only the finest materials were used to make this dress and cape. Once the bodice was finished I felt it needed some glam, so I hand sewed cut lace and a few yellow sequins onto it. The top tier of the dress was gathered and then I added a yellow, crystal cut bead to accent the top of each of the gathers.

Belle's actual dress is a little different from the dress I made, because my daughter requested a more modest top. To honor her request, I added short sleeves to the bodice.  I like how the dress stays up on her little shoulders. 

If you have a Belle that needs yellow gloves like these, you can find them here.

Doesn't every little girl deserve to be a princess and have pretend parties in her room? I so love my grandchildren and even though I live far away, I can at least give them memories of a grandmother who can help make their wishes come true. Especially on their birthday.

Since I like to plan ahead, I used the leftover fabrics to make these doll clothes for her next birthday.  I'm pretty sure she'll still like princesses then. 

Would anyone you know like these too?  You can find these items at my Etsy shop the fur trimmed doll cape here and Belle's dress and fingerless gloves here.

I've linked my Belle creations to Project Run and Play because it's their week to show what our signature style is. My style, of course, is to make whatever my grandchildren request.  

What's your style? Are the children you know crazy about the new Disney movie, "Beauty and the Beast" and have you seen it yet? xoxo Grandma

My Six Favorite Sewing Tools

I'm often asked what sewing supplies I recommend. Today, I've put together a list of my five favorite sewing tools. They are such a life saver in the world of a sewer! If you're a big sewer, like me, you'll soon discover these little tools are your new favorites too!  

First FavoriteTool: Grabbit Pincushion

First up, is my favorite pin cushion. I used to have a little problem when I sewed, I'd lose pins on my carpet. I know what you're thinking, this is not good especially if someone steps on one. At one point, my husband was losing his patience with me and the number of pins he was finding on the ground. And really, I don't blame him. What I needed was a good pin cushion.

As a gift, one of my daughters, who doesn't sew, read a lot of product reviews to find me the "best" pincushion on the market. Enter the Grabbit. The Grabbit advertisements claim, "No more picking up spilled pins one by one - sweep them up with your Grabbit. No more stopping work to push pins into a cloth cushion - drop them into your Grabbit." 


This is definitely the best pincushion I've ever had! I love my Grabbit. And no, this is not an advertisement. I'm not getting paid by these guys. I just really love it that much. 

To get a true understanding of the beauty of this pincushion, I created a little video demonstration for you below. You've gotta check out this thing. It's pretty amazing if you're a sewer! Also, I might note, this is my first video, so you can laugh a little if you want.

Second Favorite Tool: Dritz Dual Purpose Marking Pen

My next favorite tool is the "Dritz Dual Purpose Marking Pen."  On one side of the pen is purple ink and the other side is blue ink. 

Depending on your project and the color of the fabric you're using the ink on, one of these ink colors will probably work to mark your fabric (unless you're using black or dark brown fabric, then you're outta luck with this one, sorry). 

The coolest thing about this pen is both inks disappear. How cool is that? The purple ink will disappear right off your fabric after a few days, you don't even need to wash it. The blue ink disappears when rubbed or sprayed with water.  

I use this marker for all kinds of projects and love it!  My students love it too.  It's kind of like being a secret agent with disappearing inks. At least we can pretend.

Third Favorite Tool: Vintage Looking Sewing Scissors

Just look at this darling pair of scissors. Not only are they super cute, they're also super sharp. 

A friend gave me this pair right before Christmas and I love them! My sewing students ask if they can use my "pretty scissors" and I know exactly which pair they are asking to use. 

I searched and searched trying to find where this friend got these scissors so I could tell you about them and finally found them with the following very long name, Souarts Antique Silver Color Vintage European Style Classic Precision Straight Sewing Scissors. If you simply search decorative scissors, good luck trying to find them. 

I've discovered that my wonderful, full size Gingher scissors are too heavy for young people to use. But these are perfect. 

Fourth Favorite Tool: Glass Headed Pins

Have you ever wondered if there was a difference in pins? Let me tell you from firsthand experience, there definitely is a difference. A while back I was researching other sewers favorite tools, and I came across glass headed pins. I knew I had to have them.

The heads on the glass headed pins don't melt when your iron hits them. Let me show you some of the melted heads on my old pins. Can you just imagine how these melted heads would snag your fabric? It is a sewer's nightmare!  

When I finally invested in glass headed pins, I quickly fell in love with these non melting pins. I couldn't find any in my local stores so I purchased mine from Amazon.

Fifth Favorite Tool: Temporary Spray Adhesive

My next favorite sewing tool is temporary spray adhesive. This product is perfect for assembling fabric applique or putting together a quilt. I learned about this product from a avid quilter friend. The ease of this product makes any crafter/quilter/sewer's job a million times easier. You can purchase this adhesive here.

Sixth Favorite Tool: Sticky Lint Roller

My last favorite tool is a must for any dedicated sewer. It's a lint roller with sticky tape. I use my lint roller to get rid of all those threads that stick onto your clothes when you sew and land all over the floor of your sewing area. They're kind of a lifesaver when it comes to quick cleanup. You can purchase this from here.

That's it! Those are my favorite sewing tools! I hope they help you in gathering the best tools out there to help you enjoy sewing a little more. Try them out and tell me what you think. 

Do you have a favorite sewing tool I didn't mention? If so, I'd love to hear about it!   xoxo Grandma  

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO PURCHASE MY FAVORITE SEWING TOOLS:

    

SaveSave

Refashion a Skirt into Two Dresses

The warm tints and shades of green and yellow from the original skirt make the perfect fabric for today's Spring refashion. 

I used that skirt to make two dresses for two of my granddaughters. Keep reading to find out how easy they were to make...

The first dress has tulle over the skirt, because the almost three-year-old, opinionated girl it was made for will only wear "ballet" style dresses. 

The second dress utilizes the beautiful pleats found in the original skirt.

  

The first thing you'll need for this refashion is two t-shirts in the sizes of your two little girls.

To get started with your two dresses, cut open the back seam of the skirt. If there isn't a back seam a side seam will work too.  

For the first dress, I measured from the hem up to the length I wanted the skirt part of the new dress.  Now follow these 4 steps for an easy ballet style dress:

1.  Unpick a few inches of the old hem at both ends of the back seam. Then, match the skirt from the bottom up, sewing a 1/4" new back seam.
2.  Re-sew the hem where it was unpicked.
3. Measure tulle the same finished length and width of the skirt. Sew the back seam of the tulle. Pin on top of the fabric skirt. Add two rows of gathering stitches to the top of the skirt, one at 1/4" and the other at 1/2". Gather the skirt to fit the t-shirt. Pin the skirt to the t-shirt.
4. With a sewing machine, sew the skirt to the t-shirt using a 5/8" seam. Optional step, top stitch the skirt to the t-shirt at 1/4".  

 

The final step was to add an accent to the t-shirt top left side. For this dress, I cut out a flower from the skirt's fabric and machine embroidered that onto the t-shirt.

For the second dress, I measured 6 3/4" from the top of the t-shirt and cut the remainder of the t-shirt off.

I carefully unpicked the beautiful pleats of the original skirt. I ran a basting stitch along the top of those pleats so they'd stay in place.

Then I measured the total width of the pleats, added a small seam to both sides, and sewed this skirt onto the t-shirt. The next step was to add a hem.  

For this dress, I used the three covered buttons from the original skirt's opening and sewed the buttons to the top center of the t-shirt.

Not so funny fact: when I finished my youngest granddaughter's dress using the length my daughter supplied me with, it looked too short - keep in mind I hadn't seen this granddaughter in 4 months, so maybe I was just imagining her taller. I sent my daughter a text telling her my thoughts-- that the dress looked too short. She assured me if I used what she provided, it would be right. The next day, I received a text from her telling me she measured wrong & the dress needed to be 4" longer.  UGH!

I ended up using the lining from the original skirt to add the light green border onto the bottom of this dress. I'd already made a diaper cover out of the same fabric and luckily had just enough fabric for this border.

In spite of the measurement frustration, these dresses are perfect for Okinawa's spring weather with their green and yellow fabric and the long sleeves for the breezes and frequent rain storms this time of year.  Happy dress making!   xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Project Run and Play

Turn a Basket Into a Doll Cradle

This project is one I started more than three decades ago. After years of play, it needed a little refreshing.  

Back when I was a young mom, I made doll cradles for my little girls. I used wicker baskets and added rockers to convert those baskets into doll cradles. 

One of these cradles has been sitting in my storage area for a long time. I pulled it out to give to my daughter last year when she came to pick-up all her things, but since it no longer looked clean and new, she didn't want it for her little girls. Well, I couldn't just throw it away, it held too many memories. So I decided to refinish it. I removed the old, dirty cushion, that had obviously benefited from years of love and play and gave the basket some new life. 

Here's what it looked like after I refinished it:  

If you want to make your own doll cradle too, here's a list of the supplies you'll need: 

• Basket, (The basked pictured is 16 1/2" wide x 20 1/2" long x 9 high.)
• Foam
• Batting
• Fabric for cover, blanket and pillow
• Fiber fill
• Thread
• Plywood
• 4 wood screws
• Good quality wood for rockers, 3/4" thick

Take that basket and follow these steps to turn it into a cradle:
   

1. Cut a piece of plywood the size of the inside base of the basket.  

2.  With a saw, cut two rockers from good quality 3/4" thick wood - do not use plywood.  (My father-in-law cut these for me - I don't use electric saws, I'm afraid I'd cut off my fingers.) The size of my rockers are 15 1/4" long x 4 1/4" high x 3/4 thick.  Get the free rocker pattern HERE.  Print at full size two copies of this pattern and tape the sides together to make the rocker pattern complete.  Sand the rockers as needed making sure all edges are smooth.  (Keep in mind, the rockers pictured are over 33 years old and if I'm in the mood, they may get a little sanding but it's snowing today and I refuse to sand inside my home.)

3.  Using four long, wood screws, drill them through the wooden base and into the rockers, securely connecting these pieces. Also see the photo next to step one for screw placement.

4.  Make a paper pattern of the inside shape of your basket. Use that pattern to cut out a foam base which will become the cradle's mattress.

5.  Cover the mattress with batting.  I sewed the batting together to form a pillowcase shape.  Then I slipped it onto the foam and hand stitched the batting's opening closed. (On the original covering, I hot glued the batting in place and the mattress was very lumpy because when the glue dried, it gets hard. I do not recommend using hot glue with foam.)

6.  Use fabric to make a cover for the mattress. For my mattress, I used flannel.  I used a fabric marker to trace the foam mattress shape onto the flannel. Add a seam allowance around all the traced fabric. Cut out two pieces of this fabric. Measure the distance around the mattress and measure the height of the mattress. Add 1/2" to these two measurements to create your seam allowance to the height and width and cut out from your fabric the side of the mattress cover. Sew the side seam together along the width. Sew one of the side pieces to the top piece. Now sew the bottom piece to the side piece leaving one end of the mattress cover open. Slip the cover onto the batting covered foam and hand stitch the opening closed.

7.  Make any style of doll blanket making sure the blanket is a little bigger than the inside of the cradle.  You'll want to add enough width for a doll to go under the blanket. For my blanket, I took the scraps of fabric that I used to cover the mattress. Then, I cut the fabric into 16, 4" squares. I sewed those squares together alternating the fabrics so that I had 4 rows across and 4 rows down. Then with a fabric marking pen, I drew lines diagonally through the squares as shown above. Then using my sewing machine, I machine quilted along the lines. To get rid of the lines, simply rub with a wet rag or spray with water.

8.  Make a little pillow for the doll's head.  Any size of pillow will do as long as it's scaled to fit your basket. I added a 2" ruffle to the left side of my rectangular doll pillow and stuffed the pillow with poly-fill. 

Do you know a child that would love one of these cradles? I'm now positive my granddaughter will be thrilled to get this cradle for her doll.   xoxo Grandma

Here are the supplies I used:

    

Shared at: Threading My Way, Featured Here

41 Awesome Refashions for Kids

Is your money a little tight this month? We've all been there. If you have growing kids, or grandkids, it seems like their wardrobe is ever-evolving with how fast they grow. Well, I have an easy and money-saving solution for you. 

I'm almost positive you or someone else in your house has something hanging in a closet or stuffed in the back of a drawer, that they no longer wear. Am I right? If not, hit up your local second hand store because they usually have plenty of decent items. Most second hand stores even help charities, so your money will go to a good cause. Either way, pick out some old clothes you are willing to part with and get to work. Your child is about to get an updated, affordable wardrobe! 

Below is a list of 41 awesome refashions just for kids. 

1.  Gap Knock-off Tie Dress & Romper - Free Pattern refashioned from a women's button-up shirt.

2.  Refashioned Lace Dress from a women's dress.

3.  Refashion Licensed Apparel - Tutorial 

4.  Easy Breezy Summer Dress from women's top.

5.  Green Floral Romper- from a women's dress. 

6.  Dress into a Romper in 30 Minutes - Tutorial 

7.  Autumn Overalls from women's pants. 

8.  Blessing Dress Using Mommy's Wedding Dress - Tutorial 

 9.  1 1/2 Hour Toddler Dress  from a men's dress shirt, tutorial

  10.  Classic Lace Dress for a Newborn from a women's dress.

 

11.  Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh, My! What a Refashion! 

Made out of 4 t-shirts includes free patterns.

12.  Floral Sundress - Toddler Size from an adult dress.

13.  It All Started With Butterfly Leggings from a women's dress shirt.

14.  Cinderella Pajamas from an adult size t-shirt. 

  15.  Toddler Cascading Ruffle Dress: a Refashion from a women's top.

16.  How to Make a Cascading Ruffle Black Lace Toddler Dress 

17.  Turn an Embroidered Napkin Into a Yolk

  18.  Hand Me Down Blues Dress from a skirt.

19.  Pocket Pizzazz on a Yellow Gingham Dress from a placemat. 

20.  Just Call This a Polo Shirt from a men's shirt.

21.  Vintage Looking Baby Peasant Shirt: Free Pattern

22.  Tablecloth Into a Shirt - Tutorial & Refashion

23.  2 Shirts & 1 Skirt = a Dress - a Easy Refashion

24. Adult Leggings Refashioned into Baby Leggings

25.  A Sunhat From 2 Placemats - Tutorial

  26.  Summer Outfit  leggings were made from a t-shirt.

27.  Tank Tour SF Baseball Style created from 2 t-shirts.

28.   Make a Baseball Cap - Free Pattern & tutorial refashioned from a onesie. 

29.  Annie's Dress refashioned from an adult dress.

30.   Toddler Size Shorts refashioned from women's pants. 

31.  Toddler Boy Pants, Shirt and Hat

Refashioned from women's dress pants & a men's dress shirt. 

32.  Transforming a Camisole Into a Sunsuit includes a step by step tutorial.

33.  Sweatshirt and a t-shirt into an Aviator Jacket.

34.  Warmed Lined Baby Booties from a leather coat and a coat's lining.

Free pattern and complete tutorial.

35.  Adult Sweater Turned into a Toddler Varsity Sweater 

36.  Oh Matilda!  The yolk was cut from a battenburg pillowcase.

37.  Easy Back to School Skirt from a t-shirt - free tutorial.

38.  Pants into Adult & Toddler Shorts from adult pants.

39.  Patriotic Toddler Attire from 3 t-shirts.

40.  Easy Fall Dress from an adult's top - tutorial.

41.  Sandcastle Dress from an adult dress - free sandcastle pattern.

Which refashion project do you like best?  

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these items. I'm happy to help brainstorm a way for you to get use out of some of your old clothes. Half the fun is thinking up ways to use it!  xoxo Grandma

For more refashioning ideas, check out these books:

You might enjoy reading Refashioning Tips & Tricks:

Linked to:  Creating my way to Success