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Bike Basket Tutorial

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My son D had his birthday on Wednesday. He wanted a bike basket. Walmart’s cheapest basket was $15.00, and with my sons being so close, I knew that my other one would eventually want one as well. So that’s why I decided to make one instead!This worked on both my boys’ bikes–they are both Huffy bikes, and the bar across the handlebars where it velcro’s on is about 9-10″ long.

I’m sure that things could be tweaked to become better, but I thought I’d give you a starting place. It works fine for us, but I think it would be great to have laminated fabric or try out the iron on vinyl, for weather proofing. Of course, that does make it more pricey however. I made this for a couple bucks! As it is though, I can always just take it off an throw it in the wash.

*Edited to add:  I’m not sure why my adobe pdf files did this, but when I made the file for the side panels, it added an inch.  So as a result, if you print onto a normal size paper, the pattern would be too small.  So if making this, make sure to download the right pattern.  The link below has been fixed!  Sorry about that mix-up!

What you’ll need:
*one 9.5″ x 16″ fabric for outer
*one 9.5″ x 16″ fabric for inner
*2 outer prints cut out using the pattern below for the sides
*2 inner fabric pieces using the pattern below for the sides
*wire hangers: cut two pieces 14.5″ long, two 6.5” long, and one that is 8” long
*interfacing–I just traced my outer pieces and used the iron-on kind
*three 1″ strips velcro (you can easily change it up to add straps with velcro or with snaps, I just don’t have a snap press)
*one 9″x 9″ square outer fabric
*plasti-dip or rough sand paper (hopefully that would work if you don’t have plasti-dip)

I bought plasti-dip to paint onto the bottoms of any shoes I make for B to make them non-skid. I found this by the spray paint at Home Depot. I wish they had clear, but there was only black. I wasn’t sure if sanding the sharp edges of the hanger wire would work, so figured this definitely would!

Click HERE for the downloadable pattern piece you’ll need for the sides of the basket. (Picture below might not be to scale).

Take your side pieces, wrong sides together, and sew 1/4″ seam around everything but the top.

Turn right side out. Iron the unfinished side tucked in about 1/4″ so that you can top-stitch.

Top-stitch the part that was opened. You can totally top-stitch the whole thing actually, but I didn’t for some reason. Just make sure to leave a small opening for the wire.
Sew a 1/4″ around the entire pocket, leaving the small opening still for the wire. Where it is top-stitched at the top, sew the 1/4″ away from the topstitch line, not from the edge.

Insert one of the 14.5″ wires, curving it around until you reach the other side of the curve.


Insert one of the 6.5″ pieces along the top of the side piece. Now do the same thing for the other side of the basket.


Take the two 9.5″ x 16″ pieces of fabric and sew, wrong sides together, leaving one of the 9.5″ sides open.


Clip the corners.


Iron in the un-finished edges about a 1/4″, and topstitch around the entire thing, again leaving a small opening on the top that was left un-finished originally(this is how I wish I had done the sides, but it’s really not a big deal at all).

Now sew 1/4″ from the topstitch line, just on the one side with the opening.

You can see that I just sew to the topstich line on the other end of the 9″ side.

Insert the 8″ wire into the one side that you just made the little pocket for it.
Then hand-sew the holes closed on all pieces where you inserted wire.
You’re almost done! Next, hand-sew the sides of the basket to the middle fabric piece. Check the finished product for a guide on what that should look like.


Take your 9″ square, fold in half with right sides together, and sew 1/4″ seam along 2 sides, leaving one of the short sides open.
Turn right side out, iron in the unfinished side, and topstitch around the whole thing. Place your velcro as pictured below, and sew the velcro on, using a heavy duty needle.

Find the middle, crease it a bit, and place on the non-wired middle piece of fabric, and sew together.


All done! It seems like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. Here’s my older son testing it out. That dog is pretty big, but it stayed in the basket for the test run:).

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Can you imagine how cute you can make this with different fabric options? My son D loves Curious George, so although character fabrics aren’t my fave, it’s his b-day, not mine, right?! DSCF7255
P.S. I was about to apologize again for the lack of good lighting for my pictures, but I decided that it might happen more often than I’d originally planned. Oh well, a free tutorial is a free tutorial:).

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Comments

  3. I absolutly love this idea, my 2yr old daughter is really getting in to riding he tricycle this year,and has to take her Sheppy(its her lovey) with her everywhere and I know she would love one, but she has a little tricycle,i will have to figure it out, but thanks for the great idea!!!

  4. That is incredible! What a great idea!

    PS I just realized I still need to send you the SFD files for your logo stuff. I am putting it on my to do list right now!

  5. I have never even heard of plasti-dip! How are you not just dipping every piece of metal in your house? So cool.

    As for the basket: perfect! I love that you made one up rather than bought one for him. And much cuter than a plain wire one (though you could have dipped that…)

  11. Oh, I wish I would have seen this last year, I ended up caving in and buying the expensive bike basket! Brilliant idea, thank you for sharing.

  16. I LOVE this! I’ve been wanting to make a bike basket for my daughter’s bike, but haven’t gotten around to creating a patterm. This is perfect! Thanks so much!!! :)

  18. OH MY WORD!!! I was just thinking two days ago I needed a basket for my little boy! I have not been able to find a boyish one here so he has been truckin’ along with the pink and purple hand me down from his sister. Now I know this is wrong, but what is a mommy to do!

    I did try to make him one, but I could NOT figure out how, so I just gave up! (good, right?!?)
    So anyway, I think you are AMAZING!!!

    AND can I come over and dip–?

    hahahahahaha!! I know I can’t, as not only am I a stranger…but I live in the Chicago area–ahhh, just fun to pretend I could live near a crafty guru!!

  24. I am so impressed! My daughter’s birthday is next week and she has asked for (and is getting) a new bike and this would be perfect!

  29. Hi, I just stumbled across your blog while looking for cute bike basket ideas. I love the basket you made for your son! Making crafty things and saving money are two of my favorite activities, so consider me a follower!

  31. This is cute! I was thinking that perhaps several layers of clear nail polish (dip and dry between layers) might work for the coat hanger ends, or perhaps taping the ends until it resembles a small Q-tip. My little one is almost 29 years old, but this will make a great present for her youngest cousins who are 7 and 5.

  32. I love this! I can’t wait to get started on mine. I love your girl version too. :) So creative! I will be featuring you on my blog ziggycrafts.blogspot.com Thanks!

  35. How cute!

    I made a couple of bike bags with flaps that close. One of them can go in back of the bike seat. Check them out if your little guys want something small to lock down little treasures.

  37. They have just launched their own line of cruisers, the sixthreezero cruisers, which can only be found on beachbikes.net. These bikes feature a well built frame, with the most high end seats on the market.
    bike lock

  39. So cute!

    I’d love it if you shared this with the Fun Family Crafts audience.
    FFC is similar to Craftgawker but it only features kid friendly tutorials.

    Looking forward to seeing what fun crafts you submit!
    http://funfamilycrafts.com