Easter is quickly approaching and will be here before we know it. At our house we set out our Easter Baskets with a plate of carrots for the Easter Bunny to snack on during his visit. He then hides the baskets full of small goodies for each child to find the following morning.
Each child has their own basket. This year I thought it would be fun to repurpose some old stuffed animals and make our own DIY Easter Basket. We had this duck laying around just adding to our playroom clutter. I gave him a little makeover. You can too by following these simple directions.
You will need:
Medium to Large stuffed animal with a large belly
1/4 yard fabric (more or less depending on the size of the animal)
1/4 yard Fusible Interfacing (I used heavier weight)
needle and thread
bias tape (optional–I used a strip of fabric)
1/4 yard fabric (more or less depending on the size of the animal)
1/4 yard Fusible Interfacing (I used heavier weight)
needle and thread
bias tape (optional–I used a strip of fabric)
Take some scissors and cut a line up the middle of the animal’s belly. Remove the stuffing from the middle, but leave the stuffing in the head, arms and legs. Then cut a nice, round opening for the basket.
Then take your pattern, which can be downloaded here, and cut out 6-8 pieces (depending on the size of your animal) along with 1 circle from your fabric. You will also need to cut the same amount of pieces of the fusible interfacing using the same pattern pieces.
Iron the fusible interfacing onto the wrong side of each piece of cut fabric. Then sew all the pieces together on your sewing machine using a 5/8 inch seam allowance with the right sides of the fabric together.
**Be sure to sew the pieces so that the smaller ends of the sides are facing the same direction.
When all the sides are sewn together (but before you sew it into a circle), place the material inside the hole in the belly and see if you need to add any more side pieces. I needed 8 sides to make a basket that fit into the hole. If you need less than 8, you may need to re-size the bottom circle pattern to fit correctly.
Once you have the correct size, sew the two ends together to form a circle. Now take you circle and pin it to the bottom of the sides to make the bottom of your basket. Sew (5/8 inch) seam around the bottom. Turn right side out and place into the hole. If it is too tall, you can cut it down to size but make sure to sew along the top again to reinforce your seams. If it is not deep enough, add some of the stuffing you removed into the bottom of the hole until it fits well.
Take a needle and thread and sew around the top of the basket attaching it to the stuffed animal. You can use your machine if you can fit it in there. My stuffed animal was too bulky for that.
Now, take some bias tape or a strip of material to sew around the top edge of the basket.
**I took a strip of the same fabric measuring 26 inches by 1.75 inches. Iron the strip and then iron the right and left edges so that they are folded inward on each side 1/4 inch. Then fold together lengthwise so that the edges are inside and the right side of the material is on the outside with no frayed ends showing. Iron flat.
Take your strip (or bias tape) and sew it onto the top edge of the basket placing the fold directly on the top. I did this by hand as well.
Next, is the handle. You can make the handle as long as you would like. I cut a strip of material measuring 4 inches by 16.5 inches. I also cut a strip of fusible interfacing that measured the same 16.5 inches in length but only 1 inch wide. Iron this strip the same way you would for making the “bias tape” above. Wrap your fabric around the interfacing so that the seams overlap on the bottom side of the handle. Iron together. Sew a seam down the entire length of the handle to secure the fabric.
All that is left now is to attach the handle to the inside of the basket with a needle and thread!
The whole process took me just over an hour during nap time one day! I love how it turned out and my girls did too! Unfortunately I only have one…Guess I need to head on over to the thrift store and find me two more suitable stuffed animals!
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This is so fun, Amy! My girls would love this idea. I might get some fulfillment gutting a stuffed animal as well :)
That is so creative! I think my son would be so sad if I let him see me cut off the tummy part of the stuffed toy. LOL! I better hide if I want to do something like this. This is just so fun! Thanks for sharing.
Adin B
You make the cutest stuff! This is so adorable :)
Sew creative! What a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing.
Amy,
This is one of the coolest Easter ideas EVER!!
That looks awesome! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the pattern.
This is such a great idea! We have so many stuffed animals around our house that are not played with or loved and this would be a great use for them. Thanks so much for sharing.
Shut up! This is the cutest idea for an easter basket EVER!!! Kudos to you and your craftyness, I'm 100% impressed :).
My son would consider this to be the best Easter basket in town. I think I might have to try this.
This is sooo adorable! I can't wait to make one! I tried clicking where it said the pattern was though and it didn't work. How do I get the pattern?
This is a fun idea. I linked up at Dollar Store Crafts today. :) http://dollarstorecrafts.com/?p=10923
Amy, this is just too cute!! I featured this today on my weekly Wednesday’s Wowzers. Here is the link:
http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2011/03/wednesdays-wowzers-all-kinds-of-spring.html
Thanks for inspiring! You always amaze me!
~Alison
Adorable idea!
This is so cute.I have a sewing machine,but pretty much never used it because I don’t know how.I can sew the top fabric with a needle and thread,along with the handle.For the bottom maybe I could use glue,or some strong double sided tape to keep it in place.Nice idea. :)
Great idea. I have saved some stuffed animals to make purses for my great granddaughters and this is a grea tidea for easter basket. Love, Love Love it! I have spent a couple hours going over your site, so many great ideas.
Take care.
I loved this idea when I saw it! I finished making one last night and I’m so darn happy with the results!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Took me WAY longer than an hour, lol, but it was so worth it. I had to work on it in fits and spurts so my daughter wouldn’t see it. I’m new at this whole crafting thing so to have this finished project that came out so well, well, I am as happy as a pig in poop! Thank you so much again. This will be something that (hopefully) my daughter will enjoy for years to come!
Not creepy at all…
Where can we find the pattern to download?
Just emailed it to you. Thanks.
Just emailed it to you. Thanks.
Oh, how cute!!! Is the pattern still available?
Yes, the instructions are in the post. Thanks.