Every Easter, I look forward to dying eggs with my daughter. I love setting up the egg hunt on Easter morning and watching her search high and low for the last few that, for some reason, are always nearly impossible to find. As I started planning for this year’s egg hunt, it occurred to me that the only thing missing from our annual event is the Easter basket. We’ve always gotten by with using one of her small baskets that functions as her pencil holder for the remaining 364 days of the year. While this basket has always gotten the job done, I wanted to change things up a bit this year and create a basket that would make the egg hunt even more magical for my daughter. The best part is that you can create one of these adorable bunny baskets for your egg hunt in just under an hour. Let’s hop to it!

Materials

• main fabric
• lining fabric
• coordinating thread
• gold iron-on foil
• Cricut
• sewing machine
• scissors
• heat erasable pen
• fabric pins
• weeding tool

Hop to It

Print out the pattern pieces and tape them together before cutting them down to size. Trace the patterns onto your main and lining fabrics using a heat erasable pen. Next, cut two pieces out of both of your fabrics. To make things a bit easier, you can fold the fabric in half before cutting so that you only have to cut the pattern once out of each fabric.

Pin the two lining pieces together along the outside curved edge with the right sides facing each other. Using a 3/8″ seam allowance, sew the pinned edge, backstitching at the beginning and end. Repeat this step with the front and back main pieces.

Now it’s time to create the box bottom so that the basket will have depth, which will allow it to stand when filled with eggs. Measure 1.5 inches from the bottom of the lining and draw a horizontal line. Then measure 1,.5 inches from the left seam and draw a vertical line. Repeat on the right side of the lining. You should now have one 1.5 inch square on both sides of the bag. Cut the squares out and iron your seams flat. Line up the raw edges of the side and bottom, taking care to align both seams, and pin in place. Sew along this edge using a 3/8 seam allowance. Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end. Repeat these steps on the main fabric.

One + One = Easter Basket

It is now time to attach the lining to the main fabric. With the right sides together, pin the ears and the top of the bag together. Sew along the pinned edge, leaving the 3 inches at the base of each ear near the side seams open. Leaving these areas open will allow you to turn the bag right side out later. We could have left just one side open, but through trial and error, I discovered that the seam between the ears and the basket turns out better this way. Use pinking shears to remove half of the seam allowance on these seams.

Turn the bag right side out and tuck the lining inside the main. Fold the fabric wrong sides together at the openings in the side seams and press flat. Continue to press the ears before topstitching around the four ears and the top of the bag. The topstitching will close the open seams at the sides of the bag. Tie your ears together in a knot to create the handle.

Let’s Face it

We’re heading into the home stretch. Now that the bag is complete, it’s time to add the gold foil bunny face. Upload the bunny face file to your Cricut Design Space and insert it into a blank canvas. Scale the width down to 4.85 inches wide and click “Make It”. Turn the dial to custom and select iron-on foil as your material in the on-screen menu. Place a sheet of gold foil glossy side down on the mat, load the mat into the Cricut and start cutting. When the machine stops, unload the mat and remove the vinyl.

Next, use your weeding tool to remove the excess foil around the eyes, nose, and mouth. Remember to remove the piece inside each eye. Put your iron on the cotton setting and use it to warm up the front of the bag before placing the foil, glossy side up, in the middle of the fabric. Press the iron down on the fabric for 10 to 15 seconds. Lift the edge of the plastic up to confirm whether the foil has adhered. If not, continue pressing. If the foil is adhering to the fabric, carefully pull the plastic off.

That’s all folks! Your adorable new Easter basket is ready for its debut!