Sweets for your sweets look even more delicious in these beautiful baskets. Yes, I realize our photos do not feature homemade goodies, but I don't want to hear any grief about that... no one says sewing and culinary creativity must go hand-in-hand. Extra wide and just the right depth for cookies and candy (and more!); they are not too thick, not too thin... deep dish, like a good Chicago pizza. Our design ties with a big, pretty bow so there's no need for separate gift wrap.

Mix and match the interior and exterior fabrics to coordinate with your theme. We used Dessert Party by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, courtesy of The Ribbon Retreat. This was a perfect look for our Valentine's Day cookies and candies. But you could switch things up with selections from the sunny Hometown collection by Sweetwater for Moda to create a lovely housewarming gift. Or, mix and match some of the amazing florals from Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms for Rowan Fabrics and fill the baskets with gifts from the garden. The possibilities are endless... as is the selection of pretty fabrics and ribbons at The Ribbon Retreat + Fabric! Thanks to Lanae and her team for providing all the fabrics and trims for today's project.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome DC2011)
  NOTE: You will be sewing through a lot of layers with the project, often right along an edge; it's important you have a machine with a good feeding system, like the 7-piece Superior Feed System on the Janome Decor Computer 2011.

Fabric and Other Supplies

Large Deep Dish

• ½ yard of 44-45" wide fabric for the basket exterior: we used Dessert Party by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Strawberry Cones
• ½ yard of 44-45" wide fabric for the basket lining: we used Dessert Party by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Chocolate Sprinkles
• ¾ yard of heavyweight fusible interfacing, we used Pellon 71F single sided fusible extra-strong stabilizer
• ½ yard of 44-45" lightweight batting: we used Kyoto Bamboo Batting from Fabric.com
• 1 yard of wide coordinating sheer wired ribbon; we used 1½" W-Encore wired solid sheer in Cyclamen
• 1 yard of wide coordinating rick rack; we used 1" grosgrain in hot pink

Small Deep Dish

• ½ yard of 44-45" wide fabric for the basket exterior: we used Dessert Party by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Strawberry Lollipops
• ½ yard of 44-45" wide fabric for the basket interior: we used Dessert Party by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Vanilla Candy
• ¾ yard of heavyweight fusible interfacing, we used Pellon 71F single sided fusible extra-strong stabilizer
• ½ yard of 44-45" lightweight batting: we used Kyoto Bamboo Batting from Fabric.com
• 1 yard of wide coordinating sheer wired ribbon; we used 1½" W-Encore wired solid sheer in Cyclamen
• 1 yard of wide coordinating rick rack; we used 1" grosgrain in hot pink

Both

• All purpose thread in colors to best match both rick rack and fabric
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Straight pins

Getting Started

Large Deep Dish Basket

This basket finishes at approximately: 10" x 6" and is 4" deep, not counting the rick rack.

1. From the fabric for the exterior (Strawberry Cones in our sample), cut TWO 8" high x 17" wide panels.
2. From the fabric for the interior (Chocolate Sprinkles in our sample), cut TWO 8" high x 17" wide panels.
3. From the batting, cut TWO 8" x 17" panels.
4. From the heavyweight fusible interfacing, cut TWO 7" x 16" panels.
5. Cut the ribbon into TWO 18" lengths.

Small Deep Dish Basket

This basket finishes at approximately: 8" x 5" and is 3½" deep, not counting the rick rack.

1. From the fabric for the exterior (Strawberry Lollipops in our sample), cut TWO 6½" high x 14" wide panels.
2. From the fabric for the interior (Vanilla Candy in our sample), cut TWO 6½" high x 14" wide panels.
3. From the batting, cut TWO 6½" high x 14" wide panels.
4. From the heavyweight fusible interfacing, cut TWO 5½" high x 13" wide panels.
5. Cut the ribbon into TWO 18" lengths.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

The steps below show assembly of the large deep dish basket. The steps for the smaller basket are the same.

Layer the panels

1. Place a piece of heavyweight fusible interfacing against the wrong side of each exterior panel, centering the interfacing on the fabric so there is ½" of fabric showing around all four sides of the interfacing.
   
2. Following manufacturer's instructions, fuse the interfacing in place.
3. Place a piece of batting against the wrong side of each interior panel, aligning all the edges of both layers. Pin in place. Edgestitch in place around all four sides.
   
4. Press well, if need be, trim the batting so it is completely flush with the fabric.

Seam panels and box the bottom corners

1. Place the two interior panels right sides together. If you are using a directional print, make sure both panels are lined up top-to-top.
2. Pin in place along both sides and across the bottom.
   
3. Using a ½" seam allowance, stitch both sides and across the bottom, pivoting at the corners.
4. With the basket still wrong side out, the next step is to box the bottom corners.
5. Using both hands, pinch and pull apart one bottom corner.
6. As you keep pulling, the fabric will begin to make a little peak with the corner point at the top and a seam line running down the middle of both sides. Precisely match the two seams front to back.
   
7. I work first from the wrong side, then I look down inside the basket to see if my seams are lining up. Below is a photo looking straight down into the basket, lining up the side and bottom seams.

1. Our large basket is sized for 6" sides. To create this width, you need to figure your boxed corner seam at half the finished width. Therefore, in our sample, we measured 3" from the tip of the corner peak and drew a horizontal line.
   NOTE: For the small basket, the sides are 5", so your corners should be measured at 2½".
   
2. Pin your folded and measured 'peak' and stitch along the drawn line. For stability, we recommend stitching straight across, locking at the beginning and end, removing the project, then replacing it under the needle, and stitching straight across again.
   
3. Trim away the peak on each side to about ¼" from the seam line.
   
4. Repeat these steps to form the opposite corner.
5. Push out the boxed corners but keep the interior wrong side out.
6. Repeat ALL these steps to create the exterior of the basket, but turn the exterior right side out. 
   
7. Remember that the heavyweight fusible interfacing for the exterior is cut back ½"  to stay out of the seams and make them less stiff. Therefore, you are stitching right along the edge of the interfacing, which makes it easy to keep your seam nice and straight.
   

Assemble interior and exterior and add the rick rack and ribbon

1. Fold down and press the top raw edge of both the exterior and the interior ½" all around, creating a nice finished edge. Pin in place if need be, but just pressing it down should be enough.
   
2. Pin the rick rack to the top folded edge of the interior. Start at a side seam and 'dip' the curve of the rick rack down to hide the raw edge.
   
3. The middle of the rick rack should be aligned with the top fold of the interior so the half of the rick rack's 'wave' sticks up from the top.
   
4. Machine baste the rick rack in place, staying close to the folded edge, which should be right through the middle of the rick rack.
5. Slip the lining inside the basket exterior so the two layers are wrong sides together. Push the lining down into place so the side seams match up, the top folded edges are flush with one another, and the rick rack is sticking up.
   
6. We took the time to make sure our rick rack was even all the way around, checking it with a see-through ruler. Pin in place all the way around.
   
7. Find the center of each long side and mark each point with a pin.
8. Insert one raw end of each 18" length of wired ribbon at each pin point, slipping the ribbon between the interior and exterior layers.
9. Insert the raw end so it is at least 1½" below the top folded edges. Pin in place through all the layers.
   
10. Topstitch all around the top through all the layers, staying as close to the edge as possible. It is easiest to feed the basket through the machine if you stitch with the interior facing up. In the photo below, you can see the original line of machine basting we did to hold the rick rack to the interior. We'll remove that later.
    
    NOTE: For the best finished look, re-thread your machine with thread to match the interior in the top and thread to match the exterior in the bobbin.
11. Okay... later has come. When you have finished topstitching all around, use a seam ripper to pick out the machine basting stitch. Now you have just one pretty line of stitching holding everything together.
12. Fill your deep dish basket with goodies and tie closed with a pretty bow. Simply cut the ends of the ribbon to your desired length, just like a bow on a wrapped package; there's no need to finish the ends.

Other machines suitable for this project include the Elna 3210 Jeans and the Baby Lock Molly.

Contributors
Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation: Debbie Guild