Making a small drawer bigger with quilted baskets

The Studio Collection Design and Sewing Table from HA Kidd has some amazing features, and one small draw back: the drawer is quite small. It’s designed to hold small notions, and sewing machine bits and bobs. All of which could easily become a tangled mess. So, let’s make some small scale organizers.

These soft sided baskets are perfect to hold small tools of the trade that might otherwise rattle around and get lost in the fray while designing and sewing.

I made three of these little beauties. They fit comfortably in the drawer, holding threads, Clever Clips, marking pens and the like.

Here’s what I did to make one:

• Cut a strip of scraps fabric 4 inches wide by 9 inches long.
• Cut 4 x 9-inch piece of heavy duty fusible interfacing, as well as batting and muslin.
• Cut 4 x 9-inch piece of lining fabric.
• Fuse interfacing to the main fabric.
• Make a quilt sandwich: main fabric, batting, muslin.
• Spray baste the layers together with 505 Reposition Fabric Adhesive. Use an air erasable marker to draw quilting lines on the diagonal one way, and then the other.
• Install your machine’s walking foot according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Quilt along the marked lines.
• Fold the quilted piece in half along the long side.
• Sew the short sides together.

• Press the corners toward the middle and measure the 1/2 way mark from the corner on both sides.
• Draw a horizontal line at both ends and sew along it.
• Cut off the corners. (see photo)
• Repeat making the boxed corners for the lining.
  With right sides together, sew the lining to the main quilted fabric at the top edge, leaving a 3-inch gap for turning. Turn.
• Push out corners in the lining and the main fabric. Even the lining with the edge of the main fabric and press well.
• Top stitch the top edge.

Press the basket with steam. To make the edges more robust, sew a tiny stitch at each corner.
You’ve got two more to make for the drawer, but honestly, they’re very addictive to make.

I can see myself making them as little gift baskets, or even a way to finally — finally — tidy up that junk drawer in the kitchen. Using fabric scraps to tidy up: hello two birds, meet one stone. It’s sew much fun making a small drawer bigger with quilted baskets!

Come on back tomorrow, when I make some low profile fabric baskets to fit the shelves in The Studio Collection Design and Sewing Table.