Basket Tag Tutorial

In preparation for the colder weather, which is already here actually, I gathered up all of the hats, mittens, gloves and scarves I could find. Wow! Did I find a ton! Not to mention my knitting addiction to quick projects, eh hemm - hats... So what I guess I'm getting at here is that I have a lot of cold weather gear, and no wear for it to go. At least until I picked up these baskets. I have them under the bench by our front door for easy access. Each child has their own basket labeled by a tag with their initials.

If you like what you see, read on, here's the tutorial...

This is a great project for scrap pieces. I have a small obsession with vintage linens, and that is what I used to make these. They can be made to whatever size you want. Mine are on the larger side, so be sure to check your measurements.

What you need:
-Enough Fabric in your Main Color to make 4 Circles to the size you want - be sure to add 1/4" around the edges for seam allowances (mine are 6" in diameter)
-4 pieces of ribbon to desired length ( mine are 10" each)
-Contrasting fabric - 2 squares of desired size (I used 4" x 4")
-Double sided Iron on Adhesive (I used 2 - 4"x4" squares)

First cut out your pieces. You should have 4 circles and 4 ribbon strips. I used a compass to make my circles, and just drew right on to the fabric. Don't forget about your seam allowances here. I allowed for 1/4". Also, it helps to take a lighter and singe the edges of your ribbon so it won't fray.

Now take 2 circles and 2 strips of ribbon. Sandwich the ribbon inside of the two circles, with the right side of the fabric facing each other inside.

Pin your sandwiched piece down and sew around, leaving about an inch of space open to turn the circle right side out. I actually started at the top by the ribbon and sewed one side until I came to the other end of the ribbon that hangs out, then returned back to the top and did the same on the other side. This reinforces the hold for the ribbon, and then when it's finished, all you have to do is tug the ribbon down and it practically turns itself right side out. Don't forget to snip along the edges after sewing so your circle looks nice once turned right side out.

Once it's turned right side out, you can either sew the opening closed using an invisible stitch, or just top stitch around the entire circle to close it - I did the later.

Next comes the fun part. To make these initials, I just went into Word, and played around with some fonts, found ones I liked and sized them to fit by playing with the point sizes. For the "A" I used Blackadder ITC at 300 points. The "H" is French Script at 300 points. Print these out on regular paper (make sure they will fit inside the circle - check your sizes), but go into the properties tab in your print options and click the box that says mirror image so that it prints out backwards. I forgot about this at first and almost had to start over, thankfully I caught my mistake before I ironed anything!

So here is the correct "A", backwards. I just traced the "A" onto the iron on adhesive. Iron your letters to your contrasting fabric and allow to cool. Then cut out each letter. Remove the backing and then iron them onto the center of each circle.

I also top stitched around the edges of my circles because I'm pretty sure these will need to be washed from time to time, and I want them to lay nice and flat.

Here are my finished pieces - in terrible lighting. Most of my sewing is done in the evening, so the lighting is always poor. Hope you can look past that :)

And here they are, tied on and ready to use!



Take Care!