I love the taste of watermelons, but I also love how they
look. They're so fresh, bright, and summery. This felt watermelon basket and
coaster set looks as cheery as the real thing. Sew one up in a few hours to add
a pretty and practical touch to you summer decor.
Watermelon Basket
For each watermelon basket you'll need: one 9" x
12" sheet each of red and green felt, scraps of green rickrack, black seed
beads, and green, red, white, and black embroidery floss. (I like to use a
double strand of floss instead of sewing thread because it has a nice sheen.)
To make the outside of the basket, cut a 4 1/2" circle
from red felt, a 6" circle from green felt, and an 8 1/2" by 1
1/2" strip from green felt. Cut the red and green circles in half. Use
black embroidery floss to sew large black seed beads randomly on the red half-circles.
Pin a red half-circle to each green half-circle, aligning the straight edges.
Use white embroidery floss to whipstitch the red pieces to the green pieces.
Stitch only along the curved edges of the red half-circles.
Cut eight 1 1/2" pieces of green rickrack and pin
them--horizontally and evenly spaced--to the green felt strip. Use green
embroidery floss to sew the rickrack in place. Now pin the felt strip to one of
the finished watermelon pieces along the curved edge with wrong sides facing.
Sew the pieces together 1/4" from the edge with green floss. Attach the
other watermelon piece to the strip in the same way. That's it! Just turn the
basket right side out.
For the basket lining, cut a 6" circle from red felt
and an 8 1/2" by 1 1/4" strip from green felt. Pin the felt strip to
the curved edge of one red half-circle and sew the pieces together 1/4"
from the edge. Attach the other half circle to the strip the same way. When
you're finished, don't turn the lining right side out.
To assemble your watermelon, slip the lining inside the
outer basket. (If you left the lining wrong side out, the seams shouldn't be
showing.) Pin the basket and the lining together along the top edges, and then
sew them together with matching embroidery floss. I used whipstitch, but you
can also use blanket stitch or running stitch.
Watermelon Coasters
To make to a set of six coasters, cut three 3½" circles
from red felt, and nine 3½" circles from green felt. Cut the red circles
and three of the green circles in half. With black embroidery floss, make
straight stitch "seeds" on the red half-circles. Use green floss to
embroider green zigzags on the green half-circles.
Pin an embroidered red half-circle to a green full circle
and stitch the straight edge in place with green floss. Pin an embroidered
green half-circle beside the red half-circle and stitch the straight edge in
place. Whipstitch around the outer edge of the coaster with green floss.
When all six coasters are finished, you can tuck them inside
the watermelon basket. Better yet, pour yourself a tall glass of iced tea and
put those cute little coasters to work.
(This design was published on my previous blog, KBB Crafts & Stitches.)