Basket Makeover with Fabric

If you are anything like I am, and you like to use things you already have on-hand for DIY projects, you will love this budget-friendly basket makeover! I used colorful fabric to give a plastic basket/bin, I already had, a whole new look!

I gave our laundry room/mudroom a complete overhaul makeover a few months ago. I try to do all our home improvement and makeover DIY projects on a budget. There are a lot of reasons for that: 1. I am thrifty at heart…always trying to find the best price. 2. I am privileged to not work a normal 9-5 job, instead pursuing my passion of blogging and helping others to design their spaces. That means, I am careful to work with the resources and finances that we have. And 3. there is a lot of waste in the world. by using what i have and what is still in good condition, i’m doing my part to eliminate some of the waste.

The lockers in our mudroom do not serve a purpose for our needs. The cubbies on top are too small to really store anything, we do not sit on the bench, and it is overall a heavy piece in the space. For now, though, we are keeping it in the room, so I decided to paint it! If you want to see that transformation, I have all the details of our mudroom locker makeover shared in another blog post!

Once the lockers were painted, I needed décor to fill them. Remember, I was doing all of this on a budget, so I gathered pieces from my stash of accessories. I still needed baskets to fill the strangely small cubbies, so I did have to purchase those. The Target Dollar Spot came in handy with the perfect baskets, for only $3 each. Since I did not want to spend any more money on this part of the room, I decided to not buy new baskets or bins for the bottom shelves of the locker. I decided to give the current ones a makeover instead!

I had been holding onto a piece of coral-colored piece of floral fabric I had thrifted and knew it was perfect for this project! I had painted the locker with Velvet Finishes paint in a custom blue color, so I wanted something that would pop out against it, and the coral and white floral print was just the thing!

I love this DIY project because I already had everything I needed to do it, in my craft supplies, and I bet that you will too!

-Basket or bin

-Fabric – could use an old sheet, thin blanket, or even a pillow cover

-Scissors

-Measuring tape or yard stick

-Glue gun + glue sticks

Step 1:

Lay your fabric out, print side down and set your basket or bin on top. Drape one side of the fabric over to see how much you will need to cover the side and have enough length to glue down to the inside of the bin or basket.

Step 2:

Measure the length you get from measuring in step one, on all sides, and cut your piece of fabric to size.

Step 3:

Starting from the inside bottom, cut a slit in each corner of the fabric. Make sure that you stop about a half-an-inch before you get to the top lip of the basket or bin, so it still covers the corner. Cutting the slits will allow you get the fabric glued down tightly.

Step 4:

Start gluing down each side of the fabric to the inside bottom of the bin or basket. Cutting the slit will allow the fabric to lay better at this step, but you will still have extra fabric in the corners. I embraced it, by gathering or ruching the fabric. I like how it looks, but you could easily cut away most of the extra fabric.

Step 5:

Once you have glued down all your fabric, cut off any extra fabric at each corner.

AND

Step 6:

If you want a more finished look, you can cut a piece of thick cardboard to the size of the inside bottom of the basket, cover it in fabric, and press down into the bin or basket. It did not bother me that mine was unfinished, so I omitted this step.

Easy peasy!

I am sure there are lots of more professional ways to do this project, but this is good enough for me. Done over perfect is on my mind with every DIY project I do. Why? Because I think it is easy for all of us to be so paralyzed by making things perfect and having them look ‘just so,’ that we never end up starting.

If you have ever felt stuck on a project or have been too scared to do something creative, done over perfect is a great place to start. Then, as you continue to do the projects, a magical thing happens…you get better!

If you decide to give a basket or bin of your own a little makeover, I would love to see it!! So, share it on Instagram and give me a tag, so I can celebrate your win. You can find me on Instagram at @hilaryprall.