Breadbasket for outdoor living!

Just before 6 o'clock in the morning on Monday 24th March

24th March



Did you see the sunrise here this morning.  It was just so beautiful and what a great start to the week. Hoping the week continues to give such good surprises.










Away from the direct sun,
the colours were beautifully muted
























Slightly later in the morning but before I needed to wake the children up, I took my morning coffee outside into the garden, where despite having had this glorious sunrise, there had been a frost.  We have had so few this year, that it took me a little by surprise and I felt a little sorry for all the drooping flowers too. 





Peering a little closer and looking at the beautiful frost crystals, I noticed my first tulip, but it looked so sad under the weight of the frost.  By late lunch time and my second outing into the garden to eat my lunch, using my newly made bread basket, hot off the sewing machine, I took a peek at the frosted tulip...

 

 

What a transformation a few hours had made, it just made my heart skip ♥

I have recently joined the Instagram world and have been sucked in by something called #makeitsewcial. This is run by an amazing woman called Allison who runs what I can only describe as the most beautiful and inspiring shop in Birmingham called, The  People shop. Not that I have been there but the photographs she posts and the things she makes and the workshops she organises, need I say more?  Pop over and see her website http://www.thepeopleshop.co.uk/  I particularly like the idea of her Friday night Sewcial club, where one gets to make beautiful things, nibble on gorgeous tastes and drink a couple of cocktails!  This is my kind of woman, and I am determined to visit before the year is out. 

So Allison began a group on Instagram to cheer up the Monday blues,  whereby if you have the time and the inclination to make something then  you are asked to post a photograph of it before Monday is finished for all to see.  The group has grown rapidly and last week was my first foray into posting something on the group.  Very naive of me as I had not even had a nosey at what people had previously made, nor did I check to see if my photograph was posted!?!?  But today again, after work, I set to the sewing machine and spurred on by the glorious sunshine, decided to further add colour to my garden for summer eating and entertaining.  This time I would make one of those folding bread baskets you see so often in Scandinavia.  

...and this is what I had constructed an hour and a bit later...



A Scandinavian bread basket ~

You will need:

♥thin, firm plastic (I used an old flimsy plastic chopping board)

♥material twice the size of desired bread basket

♥ribbon for fastening

♥fabric spray glue, but not essential
 

I had no pattern for this and so it was to be trail and error.  I decided that the chopping board dimensions would dictate the size of my bread basket.  I knew I wanted a long and thin one, to sit in the middle of my table, as it is not a wide table, narrow was good.

 

Dimensions:  base: 38x15cm

long end: 38x5cm

short end: 15x5cm

 

I laid all five pieces on the wrong side of the fabric, leaving a slight gap between all pieces to allow for the sewing line.

 



Next I folded over the side edges on the shorter ends, so it covered the smallest pieces of plastic only.  I carefully pinned between the large plastic base and the smallest piece.  This would then trap the smallest plastic piece within the sewing.  Does that make sense?

 

 

The same needed to be done on the second short end.

 

Next came the two longer sides and much the same needed to be done to these.  Again the material was folded over to cover the plastic and pinned and sewed between the plastic pieces.

 

 

Before pinning and sewing the second long side, I hemmed the raw edge of the material that would be in the centre of the base as this would be too difficult to do once both long edges where sewn into place.

 

 

Now the second long edge needed to be trapped in place.

 

 

Looking at the above photograph, I had two choices when it came to finishing the centre hem section.  At this point it was loose and not attached to the material below.  I chose to fabric glue it down, although I did toy with sewing it by hand and slip stitching it.  I may still do this, to ensure it stays down.

To finish, each of the corners needed ribbon, to fasten the corners together when the bread basket is in use. 
 

I tested the length of the ribbon by tying a bow to see how long I would need it and then diagonally sewed it onto each of the four corners.
 

The finished bread basket, made in just over an hour.
 

I was able to finish by 2 pm today and as the weather was still lovely, I laid the table outside and had brown bread with home made jam, just because I wanted to test out the bread basket! For those of you interested, the bread basket material, was the third material used for the table cloth you see in the photograph here, it was used as the bias binding.  So with my oilcloth crochet cushion, link here: http://eclectichomelife.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/attic-24-inspired-crochet-cushion.html, the garden table cloth, link here:  http://eclectichomelife.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/an-eclectic-garden-table-cloth.html, and now this bread basket, the garden should start to look ever more colourful and ready for summer.  Bring it on!
 

 ♥Have a wonderful week, would love to know what you are up to!♥