Upcycle Your Laundry Basket!

Supplies

• Laundry Basket - I used a Ikea JALL Laundry Basket, (broken optional)
• Main Fabric - Cotton Canvas 1m
• Lining - I used a quilting cotton from my stash and depending on width of the fabric you might need more than 1m. You could use the same fabric as the main fabric, or any other canvas or quilting cotton.
• Strips of interfacing, twill tape or ribbon (I used cotton ribbon), 4x33cm cuts
• Fastening - I used snaps, velcro is another option
• Jaffa cakes

Seam Allowance: 10mm (3/8inch)

Steps:

1. Destroy an existing laundry basket in your house (if necessary)
2. Eat a jaffa cake and google how far it is to the nearest ikea. Remember lockdown and that it might not class as essential travel. Note jaffa cake can be substituted for jaffa cake gin in an emergency
3. Cut 142cmx64cm rectangle of both lining and main fabric. If you are using a quilting cotton, it’s usually 112cm wide so you will have to sew two pieces to make one rectangle                                      
4. Follow the below diagram to cut out the main laundry basket bag. You might find it easier to cut out the smaller rectangle sections using a 28mm rotary cutter 
5. Cut a 33cmx39cm rectangle of both lining and main fabric
6. If using snaps, baste ribbon/twill tape or interface along the top (10mm from top) and bottom edge of handle rectanglebasting stitch on my machine
7. If using velcro, attach velcro to the right side of the lining fabric - one strip along the top of the handle 10mm from top, and one strip along the bottom of the handle rectangle
9. Sew short sides of larger rectangle together to make a tube
10. Match middle of longer side of smaller rectangle with the middle of the handle part on the bigger rectangle wrong sides togetherFold the top handle rectangle in half and that will give you your matching point
11. Continue to clip or pin while matching the sides of the smaller rectangles with the bottom of the larger rectangle (the smaller rectangle will be slightly bigger). When you get to a corner, ease the larger main rectangle part around the corner, and clip/pin at the seam allowance
12. Have a jaffa cake and/or jaffa cake gin as the next bit requires nerve
13. Sew using a straight stitch (have main bag part on top as it is easier to guide through machine), When you get to a corners backstitch slightly, lower needle in the fabric, lift foot and pivot fabric 90 degrees
14. Repeat steps 7-11 for the lining
15. Turn lining right side out
16. Match top edge of lining and main right sides together
17. Sew along top leaving a 15cm gap, backstitch when turning at any corners.
18. Snip a notch into the corners, cutting within the seam allowance - this makes turning out easierSnip into the corner within the seam allowance
19. Turn right side out, point a knitting needle or something else pointy in corners of the handles
20. Press if you want
21. Top stitch at ⅛ along top edge, this will close the turning gap
22. If using snaps - I used 5 snaps. Insert the male (stud) snaps first, then you can press this snap (pretty hard) against where you want the matching female (socket) snap to go.You get a faint circle indentation you can use to guide inserting the female (socket) snap
23. Enjoy a jaffa cake
24. Roll in some mud to get loads of laundry to put in your new laundry basket