Sewing Canvas Liners for Baskets

One of the home sewing projects on my fun-to-make list is to create canvas liners for my two rattan baskets. This is more of a functional improvement than a decorative makeover.

I’ve been using these baskets for several years. One holds remnants or sometimes bundles of ready-to-sew pieces. And the other is my workroom waste basket, which I line with a trash bag to dispose of unusable fabric scrap and other throwaway bits.

From the outside, both baskets appear to function just fine. They are sturdy and the right size for my needs.

However, the inside is a different story.

The rattan reeds expose their sharp ends on the inside. They snag the fabrics I store in my sewing project basket. And they tear the trash bag in multiple spots as I remove it from my cylinder waste basket.

It’s time to improve the function of these baskets! This will be a fun project to sew on my vintage Singer 15-91.

For the tall, cylinder-shaped basket, I measured the inside circumference and determined how tall I wanted it. That gave me the basic width and height. Then, I added allowance for seams and the top hem.

I marked out the measurements on the canvas and cut out the liner. I turned the flat rectangle piece into a cylinder with a single seam. Next, I turned and stitched the hem.

To finish, I cut and attached a round bottom piece.

Stiff, unwashed #12 weight natural cotton canvas is key for this type of liner. As you can see from the photo, the liner stands up on its own! And the wide, turned hem creates a double layer of stiffness around the opening.

I intentionally made the liner taller than the basket. The extra height allows the trash bag to drape over the canvas top and stay in place. Without a liner, the plastic bag constantly slipped off the rattan edge and fell to the bottom.

When I made the liner for the rectangle basket, I took the same measure, cut, and sew approach as I did for the cylinder basket. Except I had to make a couple of minor adjustments.

First, the circumference around the top of the rectangle basket is larger than the bottom. Instead of pin fitting inside corner seams to create a custom fit, I cut the liner as one long, flat rectangle piece and stitched the ends together with a single seam.

Then, when I sewed it to the bottom rectangle panel, I simply added a couple of tucks on all four sides of the liner to control the excess fabric. The liner and the bottom panel fit together perfectly.

Peek inside the liner below to see the tucks.

Second, the wide opening might make the liner floppy overtime, even though it’s made from stiff, unwashed canvas.

So, I stitched a couple of ties on both ends and loosely knotted them around the basket handles to keep the liner upright.

Problems solved. Both baskets are now 100% functional. No more sharp pokes!

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned this project was more of a functional improvement than a decorative makeover. The funny thing is, by improving the function, I inadvertently gave these baskets a bit of a style boost. I love the unexpected cottage-y look! I guess it’s the slipcover maker in me, always wanting to make the worn & loved look new again. 🙂

Have you ever made liners for your baskets?