Rag dolls and Quilted Storage Boxes

Amazingly, my husband and I have 11 grandchildren now!!!

We have 2 grandsons and 9 granddaughters.

I was thinking about what I could get them for a little Easter gift.

I was looking through my magazines and found an adorable little doll pattern in this magazine, it's Issue Eleven.

Look how cute she is!!!

I made my first one for a granddaughter who loves purple.

She took a while to make, I'd say about 3 hours.

I decided to make them all at once instead of one at a time.
I thought that would make me feel like I was getting more done, and it did!

This is what the hair looks like before the head's sewn together.

I just sewed the felt hair onto the flesh colored broadcloth, and sewed lines down each one to look like strands of hair.

These are all the dress pieces, I chose each color and print according to each girl's likes and personality.

I was thinking about making each little doll a quilt...but then I remembered the quilted storage baskets in this book.

I thought the fabric basket would be better, because I could make 11 of them, including one each for the grandsons.

The baskets could be like a bed for the little dolls, and the boys could use theirs for storage.

I wrote a tutorial on the baskets here.

I made the baskets with my 3 l/2" wide scraps.

This saved me a lot of time, because the strips were already cut.

I worked really hard every spare moment I had, and finally completed my little dolls in about 10 days.

They look like their watching a movie or something, lol!!!

This little doll is for Reagan Clara, she's 4 years old.

 Her favorite color is purple and she has blonde hair.

I made her basket out of prints, and there are all sorts of peek-a-boo  designs.

There's a dog, a bird, Little Red Riding Hood, an elephant, and so on...

This is Kylie Violet, she's 2 years old.

Kylie loves pink and anything pretty and feminine.

I made her basket in pink and mint green, to match her dress.

Every doll has some of the fabric from her dress, in the basket.

This is Kennedy Grace, she's 7 years old.

Kennedy's favorite color is green, so I made her a green basket.

This is Maisie Louise, she's 4 years old.

Maisie loves pink and purple.
 I used a Mary Engelbreit print for her dress and her basket is pink.

Maisie has a cat named Abby, so I used a Japanese print with cats and birds for the lining.

This is Neo (nay-oh) Kimberley, she's 4 years old.

Neo's favorite color is purple, so the doll and the basket are purple.

I don't have very much purple fabric, so this was a challenge!

This is Lucy Jane, she's 1 l/2 years old.

She's a cute little blonde toddler, so I made her doll and basket in soft  pinks.

This is Isabel Louise, she's 1 month old :)

She has no idea what she likes, so I made her doll and basket in Heather Ross fabrics to match her baby blanket and burp pads.

You can see her baby quilt here.

This is Paisley Louise, she's 10 months old :)

Paisley also doesn't know what she likes yet, so I gave her doll an orange dress and basket.

I really love orange, it's a happy, bright color.

The lining of Paisley's basket is a cute little Japanese print that I hope she will enjoy looking at.

This is Charlotte Leigh, she's 4 years old.

A lot of people have said that this is their favorite doll :)

Charlotte loves strawberries, so there are strawberries on her doll's dress and her basket is pink.

This basket is for Benjamin, he's 2 years old.

His bedroom is decorated in red and aqua, so those are the colors that I sewed his basket. 

The lining is a Japanese print with lots of cars.

I'm putting some Matchbox cars in his basket.

Last but definitely not least, is Bridger, who is 9 years old.

He is our first grandchild.

Bridger is getting a selection of Artemis Foul books in his basket.

He's also getting a copy of the book Wonder.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all of my projects, they are a labor of love.

Lined Fabric Basket Tutorial

I love scraps of fabric and I love fabric baskets.

I made a pink scrappy fabric basket, and am sharing the tutorial with you.

I used the "quilt as you go" method.

I found the tutorial for that on Pinterest, here is the link.
I'm plannig on making Amy Butler's Weekender Travel Bag using this method of quilting :)

Thank you "Oh, Fransson!"

I cut a piece of muslin (or any other fabric you would like for your backing - it won't show) and a piece of warm and natural batting, 13" X 17".

I added scraps of fabric, following the tutorial above, for "quilting as you go".  

Here's my completed piece of quilting.

I trimmed the above piece and subcut it into 4 rectangles, measuring 6" X 8" each.

I cut another piece of muslin and warm and natural batting, 

8 l/2" X 8 l/2".

I quilted it and trimmed it to an 8" square.

This square will be the base of the basket.

Next, sew all four rectangles together, using a l/4" seam.

You will have a square of pink quilted scraps :)

Sew the base (8" X 8") to the square.

Now cut your lining, an 8" square, and 4 rectangles, 6" X 8".  

I also cut Pellon interfacing in each of these measurements and ironed them to the wrong side of the lining.

I used this Pellon, which adds lots of body to the basket.

I sewed the rectangle lining pieces together and formed a square.

I sewed the 8" X 8" base to the square, making sure to leave a 6" opening to allow for turning.

I left the 6" opening in the middle of the seam.

Keep the lining with the right side in the middle, the wrong side out.

Place the quilted piece inside the lining piece so the right sides are together.

Line up the edges of the basket so they are even, and pin.

Sew around the top of the basket, using a l/4" seam.

Remove the pins and turn right side out through the opening in the lining.

Press the top edge, and top stitch on the outside.

Now you just have to close the opening in the lining.

You can pin it like this and slip stitch the opening closed by hand with a needle and thread.

Another option is to pull the lining away from the quilted basket and sew the opening closed by machine.

I chose this method :)

My completed basket!

I love it!

You can really make it any size you want.

This basket is square, but you could make a rectangle one too.

I added some pink fat quarters to my pink fabric basket.

I took a photo of my basket from every side so you can see the different patchwork.

You don't have to use your basket for fat quarters, you can use it for all of your pink scraps.

I have a lot of pink fabric!!!

 Could it be because I have 7, soon to be 8 grand daughters?

Maybe I just love the color pink :)

This fabric basket was inspired from the quilt book 
"Sunday Morning Quilts".

They suggest making a basket in each of the colors of your scraps.

Wouldn't that be fun?

This book would be a great addition to your library,
you can buy it here.