When you are first learning to sew, everything is flat and straight. Easy peasy. As your skills evolve, you add in curves and corners, layers of different fabric and stabilizer options, and finally – you’re ready to enter another dimension. Don’t be afraid, it’s not the Twilight Zone® – we’re simply Sewing in 3D with our latest project for the SIY-Sew It Yourself series: Round Nesting Baskets with Handles.
Ready to jump in and start working on your own nesting basket set? Simply click to start.
But, if you have a moment or two, we’d like to invite you to spend some time going behind the scenes – and the seams – to learn a bit more about the variety of fabric collections we chose to create our four basket sets as well as to browse through some additional S4H step-by-step tutorials that can give you more important, foundational skills to help with your 3D sewing as well as many other projects you’ll encounter in your sewing journey, especially those with thicker layers and unique shapes.
If you’ve been following along with our SIY-Sew It Yourself!™ projects, you know there are over 350 Jaftex retailers across the US and Canada who are participating in SIY-Sew It Yourself!™ by offering project kits as well as in-person and/or virtual classes. Click here to find a participating retailer near you.
It’s been our pleasure to partner with Jaftex and SIY-Sew It Yourself™ in this outreach to develop beginner-friendly projects that are creative and inspiring. Here at S4H, we believe the quality of the design and the detail of the instructions are key to keeping you motivated as you learn new skills. It’s also what gives you the confidence to try something new and finish it with “I made this!” success.
Below are TEN of our favorite step-by-step tutorials that offer foundational basics for sewing in 3D as well as several techniques you can use on a variety of more advanced projects.
How to Insert a Flat Circle Into a Tube
How to Inert a Rectangular Base into a Tube
Bias Binding: The Basics + Beyond
Machine Sewn Seam Finishes: A Four Part Series
How to Use The Speedy Stitcher Sewing Awl
How to Match a Pocket to a Background Panel
What fabric did we choose and why for our Round Nesting Baskets? The Designer Snapshots below give you a quick summary of each of the four collections we worked with to create our basket samples. We wanted to make sure each set had its own unique look and feel as a way to show you how with a simple change of fabric, one project can take on a multitude of personalities.
Nana Mae 6 by Henry Glass & Co., Inc
1930s reproduction fabrics are patterned after the cotton feed sacks sold during the Great Depression. For families trying to survive hard times, they used the feed sacks for new clothes as well as curtains and linens for the home. The prints in the Nana Mae 6 collection replicate this same sweet, petite, and nostalgic style – perfect for our nursery themed nesting basket set. The soft pastels and tossed motifs are easy and fun to mix and match. There are 24 options from which to choose, each in shades of blush pink, warm lilac, cornflower blue, and mint green. A few patterns are also available in butter yellow and a very pretty peach. We loved the tiny animal prints, selecting the musical elephants for the exterior of our large basket, the frolicking lambs for the small basket, and wished we had a third basket to feature the playful bunnies and bears. Fields of daisies and tulips round out the Nana Mae 6 collection.
Alternative Age by Urban Essence Designs for The Blank Quilting Corp.
Alternative Age is a rich and varied collection in a steampunk style. This genre is often called “retro-futuristic” because it combines actual elements of a Victorian era dependent on steam power, like intricate gears and tools; with fantastical motifs, such as mechanized hot-air balloons and magical top hats. Alternative Age exquisitely captures the look with fabrics featuring everything from turbo-charged antique bicycles to ornate skeleton keys to an amazing collection of imaginative lighter-than-airships. It’s all rendered in a perfect palette of rust, copper, and parchment reminiscent of industrial metals and vintage newspapers. A 36” panel contains a montage of the most stunning motifs, including a scuba-helmeted octopus and gear-gadget butterfly! Urban Essence Designs is a collaborative group of creative artists known across the quilting and home sewing industry for their clever collections.
August 2022 by the Kaffe Fassett Collective for FreeSpirit Fabrics
There are 65 SKUs in August 2022 from the Kaffe Fassett Collective. 65! You’ll find fabric from brilliant designers: Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, and Philip Jacobs. We dare you to find more vibrant colors anywhere! It’s like roaming a vast botanical garden while gazing through a kaleidoscope. There are blooms, paisleys, stripes of all kinds, even a unique stained-glass plaid. We picked five prints (yes, it was hard to choose) in rich jewel tones. The two exterior prints feature circle motifs accented with bold black and white – perfect to echo the shape of our round nesting baskets. Our sample set is striking as kitchen organizers, but with so many options from which to choose in August 2022 from the Kaffe Fassett Collective, you could make a set for every room in the house, each with its own dramatic blend of color and design.
Sunshine Garden by Diane Eichler for Studio E Fabrics
A wonderful sense of whimsy and super cute little critters make Sunshine Garden such a happy collection. Designer, Diane Eichler has over 15 years of experience developing character art and graphic prints with a particular appeal for children… and the adults who love to sew for them. Her design choices for Sunshine Garden feature plenty of crisp white overlaid with bright crayon colors. Two monotone florals in butterscotch and aqua are beautiful blenders, and the 24” bordered panel with its “You Make Me Feel Like Sunshine” motto would make a gorgeous whole cloth quilt. We enjoyed how the light colors in this collection really highlighted the texture created by the straight line quilting on our nesting basket set.
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Here’s the direct link again for our Round Nesting Baskets with Handles. And, don’t forget to take a look at SIY Project #3: Bib + Double Skirt Apron with Patch Pockets, SIY Project #2: Shoulder Sling Shopping Tote + Fold ’n’ Store Carry Case as well SIY Project #1: our Vintage Notes Fussy Cut Patchwork Pillow.
To find out more about this innovative program for new sewers, and to find a participating retailer near you in the USA or Canada, go to the SIY website.
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