Make A Fancy Picnic Basket From an Ordinary Basket

Painting by Susan Rios

(click link to view or purchase)

A Picnic

by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 

1817-1880

Hello dear friends. Today I have completed something that I've been thinking about for a long time. It is a lid and lining for a homemade picnic basket.

Lovely Picnic Basket From Victorian Trading Co.

Those beautiful picnic baskets with all the supplies in them can be quite expensive. The one you see above is just lovely, but it cost $70.00, and some of these types of baskets are up to $100.00. I have taken a few minutes here and there this week to figure out how to make a lid and lining for an inexpensive basket that has some of the same features. Of course, if you really do like the one at Victorian Trading Company and can easily afford it, then go for it. This is for those who do not want to spend very much and still have the luxury of a pretty picnic basket. 

If you are interested in making one of these yourself, you should know that it is not quick and easy, but the good news is, you can use hot glue on quite a bit of it, which takes out a lot of the work. Both hand-stitching and machine stitching are required, so it qualifies as advanced sewing. However, look through the tutorial first, and you might find that you have enough basic knowledge to make this.

These are some of the materials you will need. First, select a basket, any size, preferably one with a moveable handle so that it is easier to work with. I got this one at the dollar store just for demonstration, but you can get a much larger one, and try a different shape, such as square or rectangle. This is a wooden-slatted basket, not a straw or wicker one, but you can use those kind too. Quilting fabric or any woven cotton fabric will be fine for this project, but not knits or silks or synthetics, because it requires something more  stable. You will also need some trim of some sort, like rick-rack or braid or grosgrain ribbon. 

Also needed is some iron-on (fusible) fleece (you can use regular fleece if you like, but fusible is much faster to work with), a piece of corrugated cardboard large enough to make the lid, some good strong scissors (please do not use sewing scissors on paper or cardboard. It makes them dull).  You might also need some craft paint and a sponge brush to paint the basket if you want it a different color. You will also need a hot glue gun with glue sticks. This project is not for children!

Corrugated cardboard is a thick, layered cardboard. You could use any other cardboard, but in my opinion, corrugated cardboard is the best for this kind of craft. Find it in the bottom of boxes you get in the mail, or just cut a corrugated cardboard box.  

To make the lid,  turn the basket facing down on the cardboard and trace around it. No basket has perfect dimensions, so expect it to be slightly less than a perfect circle or square when you trace it.

Cut the circle out and place it on top of the basket, turning it to fit as best as possible, and then trimming it again if necessary.

Lay the cardboard circle on the iron-on batting and trace around it and cut it out.

Usually there is a sparkly side of the iron-on (fusible) batting, and that goes face down on the cardboard. With hot iron, press down on the batting to make it stick to the cardboard, pressing the steam button for bursts of steam to help it fuse.  Cut another batting circle and fuse it to the other side of the cardboard.

Take the cardboard-batting piece and lay it on the wrong side (the non-printed side) of cotton fabric and cut out the circle.

Lay the cardboard with batting on top of another piece of fabric, with the wrong side up, and cut about 2 inches larger, around it. If you are using white glue or fabri-tack (a fabric glue), put a row of it on the circle so that you can fold the fabric up around it. Secure it with clothespins for awhile to hold it. If you are using hot glue (recommended) use some kind of instrument like a knife or spoon to press the fabric onto the hot glue. Remember that the cardboard will be sandwiched between two batting circles.

Click on for a larger view of this to see the small circle glued over the larger circle that was folded over. The edges of the  smaller circle were ironed down approximately a fourth of an inch and then hot-glued to the larger circle, covering its edges so that it has a nice finished, upholstered look.  I have used hot glue, but you may also hand stitch the whole thing together with ordinary thread. I would suggest quilting thread because it is stronger.  Then select some trim, such as rick-rack, as you see above. Place your spoon, knife, tea bag and napkin on the inside lid and and lay a strip of trim across them,  then dot a bit of hot glue in various areas to make pockets to slide them in. As I said, you do not have to use glue at all, as you can stitch this cording or rick-rack or trim in place to make sections for your knife, spoon, tea bag and napkin, You can even place a piece vertically on the lower end to insert a napkin or some other thing.

Thread a large-eyed needle with quilting thread, double it and tie a large knot at the end.

Put the needle slightly under the lid, through the cloth and batting (not the cardboard)  so that the knot will be hidden underneath, 

and then pull the needle inbetween one of the slats or straws of the basket rim,

and out again into the batting and fabric. Make several of these kinds of stitches under the slat or straw and back into the cloth (you do not need to sew through the cardboard) until you have a strong hinge. Knot and clip your thread, and do the same thing again in another area close to that area so that you have two thread-made hinges in the back of the basket lid.

Fold  about two feet of wired ribbon  in half and place it in the middle of the back of the lid, on top, between the two hinges you made with thread. Then hot glue it down the center, on to the back edge of the lid.

Tie it in a bow, arranging it into a curled effect,  and glue down the ends with hot glue.

Trace around the bottom of the basket on to some more fabric and batting, and cut out the circles. Cardboard is not necessary for this part of the basket.

Lay the basket on its side to get the height of it, and roll it on the fabric to see how long a strip of fabric you will need to make the lining. Double the fabric (or use at least one half the amount more) before you cut it, so that it can be gathered to fit. I have not given any measurements because it all depends on the size of basket you are using.

Clip the fabric and tear the strips. Then sew the two short sides together and cut a piece of the fusible batting to fit. Iron it on using steam, with the sparkly side of the batting down on the wrong side of the fabric.

Sew the other end of the fabric-batting strip, pinning it four ways on the fabric-batting circle, as you see above. To divide the circle, just fold it in half and then in half again, marking each fold with a straight pen. Then fold the strip in half and fourths, marking the folds with pins. Then match up the pins and pin the strip to the circle.

The next step is not pictured: Thread a large eyed needle with quilting thread, knotting it firmly on the end. Then take large running/gathering stitches all around the strip and when you get to the end, pull up the thread until it fits the circle. Then, machine stitch it all around.

This is what it will look like on the other side.

With a steam iron, fold down and press the edges of the circle to the other side to make a hem.

Placing the right edge of the presser foot evenly with the right edge of the folded over fabric, stitch all around the piece, using a large length straight stitch.

Stitch another fourth inch from the previous stitching, on the inside.

Insert the quilted lining into the basket, and if you have some stick-on velcro srtipping, put it around the top rim of the basket and the matching piece on the top rim of the lining. 

If you plan to give away this basket, wrap the scones and cheese and sandwiches in waxed paper, insert them in and around the teacup, and add small containers of jam and cream for the scones.

There are probably a few steps left out, but this is not an exact science, so you can adjust it to fit your own style of sewing and crafting. Here is a big time-saving idea: Instead of making a lining, just take a  big square of matching fabric and insert it in the basket. You might also iron on the batting to the square  or circle of fabric and sew another piece on the other side. To measure a circle of fabric to fit the inside, just wrap a piece of fabric around the outside of the basket to get an idea of how much you will need. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you really get a lot of pleasure out of using this "fancy" picnic basket. I've used a small basket to make it easier to demonstrate, but you might try using a family size basket to see what you can do. 

The silver spoon and knife are plastic, and come in a package of 16, from the dollar store. If you go to a thrift store or Goodwill, you can some times find mis-matched cups and saucers for under a dollar, which would be great for a basket like this if you are giving it away.

Save some time by using pre-quilted fabric, and then you will not have to add the batting. 

This might be a good idea for someone who is looking for something to make for their etsy shop.