I’ve been wanting to make this Tessa Basket for a while now and finally got the chance when I had to stop work on my current quilt because I ran out of a certain fabric.  Good excuse to whip this up!

It took my just a couple of evenings to make this. The most fun was the quilting of the panels.  My Janome makes such even, beautiful stitches – it’s so fun to machine quilt with it.

I used several favorite fabrics, including Cloud 9 First Light Leaf in Pink, Leaves in Dark Taupe from the Magnolia line, and the ever awesome Make and Pin from the Maker collection.

I added a D-ring on the side so I can clip a key if I want to.  I used Pellon firm stabilizer, because I made the tote a little taller than the pattern called for and I needed some structure.

I also added a handy interior pocket.

Here are the panels before assembly.  I just used Warm & Natural cotton batting to quilt them with.

I quilted the gray bottom fabric in a checkerboard, just for added texture on the bottom of the tote:

It took a lot of Wonder Clips to assemble this thing!

Grab the pattern here in Bonnie’s Etsy store.

Want to see more versions of this pattern?  Check out these Tessa Baskets:

Gemini Stitches
Wooden Spoon QuiltsThe Sewing Chick
s.o.t.a.k. handmade
mommy by day, crafter by night
nana company

Have a wonderful weekend!
Elaine