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