Fruitful Market Basket

FINISHED QUILT SIZE: 29˝ × 24˝

A delicious assortment of fruit is lovely in this pretty, woven market basket. Use this small quilt as a table topper or hang it on the wall.

Materials

Linda used a green cotton/linen blend for the background. The tablecloth is Kirman by Kaffe Fassett for Rowan.

•Cotton or linen block background fabric: ¾ yard

•Cotton or linen tablecloth fabric: ¼ yard

•Appliqué fabrics:

Brown felted wool fabric for the basket body and handle: ½ yard

Teal basket strips: 1 felted wool Chubby OR a piece 6˝ × 18˝

Aqua basket strips: 1 felted wool Chubby OR a piece 6˝ × 18˝

A variety of scraps of felted wool for the fruit

•Binding: ⅔ yard

•Backing and sleeve: 1⅓ yards

•Batting: 32˝ × 37˝

Additional supplies

•Self-adhesive laminating sheets: 18 sheets

•Fusible web: 17 sheets of SoftFuse OR 2 yards of 18˝-wide fusible

•Clear vinyl: ¾ yard of 54˝ wide OR 1½ yards of 16˝–18˝ wide (Tape vinyl together as necessary.)

•Appliqué threads: Aurifil wool in colors to match or complement the fabrics

Cutting

WOF = width of fabric

Block background fabric

Cut 1 rectangle 20¼˝ × 31˝.

Tablecloth fabric

Cut 1 rectangle 6¼˝ × 31˝.

Binding

Cut 1 square 21˝ × 21˝ to make a 2½˝-wide continuous bias strip 130˝ long for the binding (see Continuous Bias Binding).

Quilt Assembly

Refer to General Appliqué Instructions as needed. Seam allowances are ¼˝.

1.Make templates and overlays for the block using the Fruitful Market Basket patterns.

2.Sew the tablecloth strip to the bottom of the background fabric. Press the seam allowances toward the tablecloth.

3.Press the background/tablecloth unit in half horizontally and vertically. Place it on your design wall.

4.Refer to Preparing to Stitch to choose fabrics, fuse the fusible web to all the felted wool appliqués, and cut them out.

5.Place the appliqué pieces on the background on your design wall. Use the overlay to place the appliqué pieces in the proper position, or place them by eye. Play with color and fabric choices until you are happy with the way the block looks.

Appliqué placement

6.Fuse the pieces to the block. Be sure to weave the basket strips before fusing. Appliqué the block. Select your appliqué stitch from Stitches for Appliquéing with Felted Wool.

7.When the appliqué is complete, press the block on the wrong side, and trim it to 29½˝ × 24½˝.

8.Layer and baste the quilt. Quilt by hand or machine, and bind. Refer to Finishing Techniques.

Sew a Bunch of Grapes

Note that on the Fruitful Market Basket patterns, there is an oval shape you can place under the grapes to make them look fuller.

Baste this oval piece into place, ⅛˝ inside of the edge of the fabric, with matching thread.

It is also a good idea to sew all the way around each grape, even where a shape is covered by another shape. This adds dimension to the grapes.

Baste grape base fabric in place.