Laundry Fun Gift Basket + How to Sew a Basket Liner

Today I have a bit of an unconventional gift idea. But, frankly it is a gift that is sure to bring some fun and enjoyment to anyone who is tasked with the domestic chore of doing laundry. I think this Laundry Fun Gift Basket would be a wonderful gift for a new homeowner. Or a college student who finally moved out of the dorm into their own apartment. Heck, even Grandma would surely love this gift.

If you don’t have anyone on your list that would enjoy a laundry themed gift basket, I’ll show you how to sew a custom liner for an oval basket! You can use the same instructions to sew a liner for almost any shaped container and turn it into a beautiful gift basket with your own theme.

Materials:

Wicker laundry basket
Fabric (I used a twin sheet from Walmart to keep the cost down)
Thread
Scissors
Pins

Optional: Pin on flower

Ideas to put into the Gift Basket:

Lavendar scented clothes pins
Bottle filled with DIY liquid laundry detergent
Dryer balls (Check out these West Elm Hedgehog Dryer Balls)
Lavendar dryer bags from Trader Joes
Fels Naptha Soap (available at any supermarket in the laundry aisle)
Linen scented hand soap from Trader Joes
Fresh towels
Bar soap
“Laundry Loads & Loads of Fun” Artwork

Directions for sewing a basket liner:

Start by lining the basket with your fabric (inside out). Fit and drape it over the rim of the basket.

Neatly create symmetrical tucks in the fabric and pin where you want the seams to be.

For my laundry basket I had six areas of tucked fabric. Two on each end and one at the front middle and one at the back middle. I also like to leave a fair amount of excess fabric at the base.

Carefully lift the fabric out of the basket and stitch along the pins.

Trim excess fabric from the seams.

After all six of the tucks are stitched, lay the liner fabric back into the basket right side out.

The white outline below delineates the bottom of the basket. Pin the fabric one inch inside this perimeter line.

Remove the liner and trim along the pinned oval.

Set the liner back into the basket inside out. Insert a piece of fabric approximately one inch bigger than the base of the basket.

Fold the edges of the liner up. Pin the base and the liner to each other along the perimeter of the base.

Remove the liner and stitch along the pins. Make sure to rotate the fabric and double check that the fabric lays flat under the sewing machine foot.

Check the liner fit inside the basket.

Trim the excess seam material from the base.

Time to fill up the basket! Add a pin on flower or bow to dress up the basket liner.

I included a bottle of my DIY laundry detergent. (A cleaned out glass milk jug works wonderful for this purpose.) I also tied the recipe onto the bottle.

Did you know this recipe makes enough detergent to wash 75 loads of laundry! And it costs 20 cents to make (20 cents per 75 loads!) Here’s the recipe and print out I used: