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The 1 Hour Basket. I’m sure you’ve seen it, especially if you are on Instagram. It’s a fairly new, free pattern by Kelly at Kelby Sews, and it is all. the. rage. Currently there are 1,189 posts with the tag #hourbasket on Instagram, and some of those tags include photos of a ROOM full of 1 hour baskets. It’s an (awesome) epidemic.
I’ve been wanting to make one to see what all the fuss is about, and today I had the pleasure of attending a free 1 Hour Basket class at Alewives Fabrics in Nobleboro, Maine. I did it! I made my very first (and not my last) 1 hour basket. Granted, with all the chatting I did with Sarah from Berry Barn Designs, paired with the 1.5 hour drive each way, my basket took me 6 hours to complete, without even counting the bit of preparatory flying geese sewing I did before class. But honestly, it was worth every minute.
When Rhea from Alewives posted on Instagram about the free 1 Hour Basket class she was offering, Sarah suggested we meet there since we have been blogging buddies since the new bloggers blog hop about a year ago (has it been that long?), but have never met in person. With only a few weeks to go until baby time, it was the perfect mommy get away day! I’m so grateful she thought of the idea to meet up, since it was just the nudge I needed to commit to going.
Rhea and Shelby at Alewives had us making a slightly modified basket, with added outer pockets and a different handle option. There is something about being in a room full of happily sewing people that just makes a day sunnier.
I got to sit next to Sarah during the class, and we had a great time chatting and sewing and chatting and sewing. Sarah was super ambitious and made TWO baskets, which worked out wonderfully since I was moving at a snail’s pace. That’s one challenge to being hard of hearing and attending a sewing class. I can only hear if I look at the speaker, but I can only sew if I look at my sewing! I think I found a good balance, and we definitely had a blast.
This basket will be an “extra” for my Alison Glass Mini Quilt Swap partner, since that was the initial intention and no matter how much I love it, I feel like giving it away is the way to go. Plus, I can always make more! As Rhea warned in the beginning of class, this basket is addicting. I think she’s right, since I’m already plotting my next one (or ten).
Here’s just a short list of functional ideas, and the reason I may need to make an abundance of these baskets:
- Holding diapers and wipes in various locations in the house
- Sorting fabric
- Sorting fabric scraps
- Portable knitting or handiwork organizer
- Holding works in progress
- Holding toys
- Best gift bag ever–fill with wine, chocolate, or other occasion goodies
What would you do with your 1 hour basket?
Grab your favorite fat quarters, then order your supplies (affiliate links below) and make your own!
Pellon Fusible fleece
Aurifil Thread in my fav neutral
OLFA Ergonomic Rotary cutter
OLFA Frosted Ruler
Sew Tites, magnetic pins I can’t live without!
Find the 1 Hour Basket pattern HERE. Happy sewing!
Night Quilter 
I love this, Kitty. I’m going to be making one myself! And your colors are beautiful. You have such a great eye for this!
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That looks like so much fun – and all the more wonderful because you got to spend time with Sarah in person! Both your baskets turned out really cute. Kitty, you and I have something in common: I can only hear if I am face to face with someone and watching them speak. I took a quilting class once where the teacher was so wonderful. She directed a lot of what she said right at me. And sometimes when I was looking down sewing she came over and got my attention before she said things. How great is that?!
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Oh, how wonderful that you got to meet up with Sarah in person! ❤ Your basket turned out beautifully, and I am so glad you had a get away day!
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you made a lovely basket and I’m so glad Sarah stepped out to ask you to meet up so you could both enjoy a fun afternoon!!
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Nice one! I love the geese addition.
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Very cool just looked at one on crafty web site…Are you doing the shop hop here in maine?
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what a great story! and your bag is beautiful. so glad you got to have a mommy day away for fun!
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I’ll definitely make one!
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Oh, this sounds like so much fun… and to meet a friend in person that you’ve been in contact with for a while makes it even better. Unfortunately quilters in Germany are few and far between. I’ve had an opportunity though recently to meet one quilter who lives just around the corner from me. Crazy thing is that we “met” on Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday… how crazy is that?!?
Yeah, you’re gonna have to do a repeat on this basket – thanks for sharing the link!
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Thanks for the tutorial link! I’ve been seeing the 1 Hour Basket on Instagram, but wasn’t sure where it came from. Can’t wait to make some for my fabric holding!
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Oooh… another “quick” project.Tempting. Very tempting. How jealous am I of your lovely afternoon of sewing with Sarah? Very. This pesky interweb makes people seem so close… but it’s a long drive to Maine! 🙂
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It’s a perfect basket to hold an overnight guest’s towel, hand towel, and washcloth plus some nice hand soap, shampoo, hand lotion……but I’m making one for my own bathroom to hold my daily use items. It’s so easy to pick it up and move everything at once for a daily wipe off of the counters! After that, one will go on my bedside table, to hold some tissues, a good book, a snack, my list of things to do tomorrow. I need one on my breakfast room table, too, for a supply of pretty cloth napkins, a couple of mugs, the salt and pepper and sugar jar. As a gift basket, it hold hold any number of things that interest the person I’m giving it to. I adore these baskets, and they are addictive, with so many pretty fabrics calling out to me to mold them into the nicest new sewing item to hit the blogosphere in years.
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Kitty, I love your 6+ Hour, 1-Hour Basket. Would you mind sharing what fabric you used on the exterior, how you added the outer pockets and what changes you did on the handles?
I know that is a lot to ask, but your basket is definitely the best one I have seen.
Thanks, JulieAnn
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I’m sorry for the great delay in getting back to you–I was having a baby! 🙂 It was quite an epic Friday Finish, but I’ve been a bit slow at replying to comments https://nightquilter.com/2015/06/08/introducing-baby-finn-my-epic-friday-finish/
As for the one hour basket modifications and info—I’d be happy to share!! The outer fabric is primarily Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Charcoal with Flying geese from Alison Glass’s 2015 Sun Prints lines Mercury and Grove in the blues and greens. I used the free flying geese paper piecing pattern by Piece by Number, which fit perfectly onto the pocket (http://piecebynumber.com/flying-geese-border-PieceByNumber.gif). The pocket dimensions are 7.5″ x 16.5″, so when assembling the basket, cut two pocket outers and two pocket liners. In my case, I made one pocket solid Essex yarn dyed linen and the other side I pieced from the flying geese and linen. The pockets get pinned in place before joining the outside of the basket. If you need more detailed assembly instructions, let me know and I can see what I can do. I kept my handles the same as in KelbySews’ pattern, but Alewives (the fabric store at which I attended the class), offered a variation where the handles were attached to the long sides instead of the short sides. It is just a matter of where the handles are pinned before sewing the lining and outer portions together.
I hope this helps, and let me know if you have any other questions!
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Is there a pattern for “my 6 +1hour basket.Just love the size
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