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Bloom into Storage: Stitching the Blossie Basket (QAYG Hexie Bowl)
Nic VaughanMeet Blossie - the little basket that blossoms
Some sewing projects are all hustle; others feel like a warm cup of tea. Blossie Basket sits firmly in the second camp. Seven quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) hexagons are all it takes to bloom from a flat mini into a sturdy, scrappy bowl that corrals threads, Wonder Clips or even a cheeky stash of chocolates. Add the optional lid with its felt needle-keeper and button-and-loop closure, and you’ve got a travel-ready sewing caddy that stacks neatly with its sisters on the shelf.
Why fuss with QAYG?
Traditional bowls made from fabric strips can be fiddly, but Blossie’s QAYG method means you:
- Quilt on one palm-sized block at a time.
- Get the soft-and-squishy hand-quilted texture I love, without hours of binding at the end.
- Enjoy an “instant-finish buzz”: each hexie is completely quilted and bound before you join them.
- Blossie can be sewn in a weekend!
GET BLOSSIE BASKET PATTERN HERE
Gather your garden of supplies
Scrap lovers, rejoice: the biggest fabric piece you need is smaller than a notebook, so raid that “too pretty to toss” basket.
Put a lid on it (or not)
Putting a lid on your Blossie Basket is optional!
- Fuse a flower motif to the lid hexie before quilting for a sweet focal point.
- Stitch a elastic loop to the back, covering the knot with a felt hexagon that doubles as a needle-keeper.
- Stitch the finished lid to one rim edge and add a button on the opposite side.
Prefer an open bowl? Skip the lid and show off your colourful inner hexagon instead.
Customise your bloom
- Vintage linens: One embroidered hanky becomes six nostalgic petals. Offcuts from slow-stitching projects will be perfect to use. Or feature vintage embroideries.
- Monochrome magic: Black-and-white stripes outside, neon quilting thread inside.
- Theme it: Halloween prints + orange hand quilting = spooky-cute candy dish.
GET BLOSSIE BASKET PATTERN HERE
Skill seeds you’ll sow
Blossie may be bite-sized, but she teaches a bouquet of techniques: quilt as you go hexagons, slip-stitch binding, big-stitch hand quilting, precise ladder-stitching, and optional fusible appliqué or yo-yo making. That’s a lot of crafty mileage from one afternoon project!
Get stitchy with it!
Free-motion and machine quilters often let the fabric print guide their stitching - and hand sewing is no different! I had a blast stitching my Blossie Bowl in Anna Maria Horner’s Piecework collection, picking stitch designs that echoed those gorgeous prints. It’s not just for geometrics, either - scan any fabric for little pockets of negative space and add tiny embellishments wherever you see fit. Before long, you’ll start spotting perfect spots for your own unique stitching flair on every patchwork project!
What the community is stitching
Over on Instagram, makers are:
- Filling their Blossies with ½″ hexie EPP papers for on-the-go piecing.
- Debating whether the felt needle-keeper is genius or just extra (we say genius).
- Tagging #BlossieBasket so I can cheer you on
GET BLOSSIE BASKET PATTERN HERE
Ready to blossom?
The Blossie Basket PDF pattern has photo-rich instructions, full-size templates (no maths!), lid add-on, and troubleshooting tips. Print, cut, and start stitching tonight; within a couple of days your sewing table will literally bloom with handmade storage. Grab the pattern in the Craftapalooza shop, raid your scrap bin, and share your progress - I can’t wait to see your Blossies bloom!
