Coffee Sack Baskets

Hey Girlies!  Did you think I'd leave you hanging in the kitchen in my last post?  What a nice segue from kitchen to coffee--come on in with your coffee or soda, and sit awhile!  Some time ago, I won this genuine coffee sack from Marty at A Stroll Thru Life (Hi, Marty!).  My top repurposing choices ended up being between a tote bag and another burlap basket.  (A pillow just seemed too scratchy.)  It seemed as if it was calling out to be a basket--"Hellooo, make me into a basket...!"



No, wait a minute...make that two baskets!  And, here it is (!) turned into  "basket" planters for my faux-liage.  The size was based on the print of the bag and is very similar to my original, although a little bit narrower.  Below, if you remember, is what it looked like to start with.  Since I didn't want a "basket" that tall, I did some creative cutting on the yellow lines.

Heh, heh, you'll see have have another piece left, which, hopefully will be coming to a blog post near you!  I followed the instructions from my Burlap Basket Tutorial.  I used a spare piece of burlap I had for the bottoms.  The smaller one (about 18" around) has a cuff on the top that is folded outward.  The top of the larger one was banded on the inside and hemmed.  It got two "belt loops," since I didn't want to cover the printing, with only one strand of jute strung through and tied in a simple bow.

Isn't it nice how they snuggle right in, even though this area is a little more formal?

For some reason, I had to work a little harder to get this basket together.  I'm not sure if it's because I had a stiffer innerfacing, or did not take the sack apart.  I figured I'd be sewing it together, anyway, so left it like that.  If I did it again, or if you make one, I'd take it apart at the seam before you start.  (I remember thinking unladylike thoughts at one point.)

 

Gah, this is so cute!  I thought the picture was of a swan, cough, cough, however, I believe it's actually a stylized coffee bean.  That's what I'm sticking with.

So versatile--it also works as a floor planter.  Isn't it fun to take humble, functional items and transform them into home decor?