Felt Basket

Instructable for a felt basket where you can store your stuff in.

Step 1: Supplies

• Ruler
• Pencil
• Crochet yarn
• Sewing thread
• Needle
• Paper clips
• Pins
• Scissors
• Stanley knife
• Felt: 30 X 30 cm and thickness 2 mm

Step 2: Measuring Distance

• (Take the ruler and place it on the felt).
• Mark 4 dots at 9 cm from their nearest sides.

Step 3: Draw Lines

• Connect the 4 dots by tracing 4 straight pencil lines (two horizontal and two vertical).
• Clearly indicate on thet dots where the two lines intersect.

Step 4: Make a Diagonal Cut

• Use the Stanley knife to make a diagonal cut from the dot.
• (Where two lines intersect) to the corner of the felt mat.
• Do this for all 4 corners.

Step 5: Fold Edges

Fold the edges back to give the basket a better shape.

Step 6: Opposite Corners

• Pin together the two opposite corners with a paper clip.
• Make sure that the top edge of both corners makes a straight line.

Step 7: Positioning Corners With a Paper Clip

The paper clip will prevent the corners from moving while connecting the corners on the opposite side.

Step 8: Fix the Inner Corners

• Make sure that the top of the inner corners makes a straight line.
• Pin together both corners by using two pins on each side.

Step 9: Remove Paper Clips

Remove the paper clips.

Step 10: Supplies for the Sewing of the Inside Corners

• Cut off a piece of 30 cm thread.
• Better too long than too short.

Step 11: Needle and Thread

Pass the thread through the eye of the needle.

Step 12: Make a Knot

Tie a knot at the end of the wire.

Step 13: Sew the Two Corners Together

• Sew the two corners together with a straight stich.
• Start at the corner and on the outside.

Step 14: Make a Knot

• When you have reached the end, tie a knot and make sure that the knot is on the outside.
• In a later step, the two outer pieces will cover the knots.

Step 15: Thread Cutting + Repeat

Cut the thread and repeat the steps in step 10 on the other side.

Step 16: Positioning the Remaining Sides

Attach the outer sides to the inner circle with a paper clip.

Step 17: Fix the Remaining Corners With Paper Clips

• Pin the remaining corners to the circle with a paper clip.
• Do this on both sides.
• Now you can adjust the opposite sides to make the edges fit nicely together.
• Make sure there is no space between the inside and the outside.

Step 18: Pin the Outher Sides

• When all the edges fit nicely to one another, stick a pin through the outer side and the already sewn corner of the inside.
• Do the same on the opposite side.

Step 19: Crossed Corners

• Then insert a straight pin through the corners of the outer sides.
• Insert the pins vertically and in the middle where the two corners cross each other.
• Draw a pencil line on the left-hand side of the pin (approximately 2 mm).
• This will make a space of about 4 mm.

Step 20: Cut the Corner

• Cut off the corner on the line.
• Save this corner for the next step.

Step 21: Cut the Second Corner

• Use the saved corner to draw a line on the opposite corner.
• Cut out this corner on the line.

Step 22: Positioning the Lose Ends

• Pin back the two loose ends with a paper clip.
• Adjust until the upper edges make a straight line.
• It may happen that the cut ends do not have the same length or are not making a straight line. This can be solved by trimming the edges.
• But beware: the more you cut away, the bigger the space between the ends!

Step 23: Mark Dots

Mark 4 dots on the felt.

Step 24: The Connection

• You can use crochet yarn for the connection.
• If you don’t have crochet yarn, you can double fould the thread and make the cross stitch twice.

Step 25: Sew the Connection 1

Push the needle through the back of the felt.

Step 26: Sew the Connection 2

Insert the needle now diagonally in the front of the other end.

Step 27: Sew the Connection 3

Insert the needle on the same side in the remaining dot from the back of the felt.

Step 28: Sew the Connection 4

Insert the needle at the front of the remaining point.

Step 29: Sew the Connection 5

Pull the thread through the inside of the basket.

Step 30: Sew the Connection 6

• Then insert the needle at approximately the same height from the inside to the outside.
• Make sure you go through one layer of felt.

Step 31: Sew the Connection 7

• The wire must be located between the two layers of felt.
• This should not be visible between the ends.

Step 32: Sew the Connection 8

Make a knot.

Step 33: Repeat

Repeat step 23 to connect the other side.

Step 34: Finished!

The felt basket is finished. Now you can use it for many purposes, for example as a pencil box.

Enjoy it!