38 Weeks: Making Room for Baby (Lined Baskets)

I am a time-bomb. With every contraction… Could this be it? When? WHEN?! And everyone you meet wants to know When? and honey, you must have dropped, and I bet it will be a fast one. When really, no one has a flippin’ clue.

So, I wait… and try to get a little closer to being “ready.”

We have this little built-in bookshelf in our bedroom and I thought it would be a nice spot to store baby things as I like to keep my babies close for the first few months. I collected baskets for the shelves – some I had around the house, others I found at my local thrift store, and the rest my lovely little sister found in her local shops for me. Muslin-lined baskets and homemade muslin curtain have turned the shelves into a lovely place for teeny socks and pants and things.

lots of socks and pants and things…

Because they were all used, I wanted to do something special to them to spiff them up. Lining the baskets in muslin gave them a cleaner fresh look and made the collection look (more) cohesive (ish).

This project reminded me of watching my talented mother-in-law make the liner for our heirloom wicker bassinet when we were preparing a nursery for Duncan. I was a beginner sewist then and I was so impressed with her ability to just whip up the liner like it was no big deal. How did she know how to do it? Here I am 7 years later, and I just did essentially same thing. I guess I’ve learned a thing or two over the years?

Lined baskets don’t really come close to the jaw-dropping home decorating jobs we see on craft blogs all the time, but it makes me happy to have pulled those baskets together and prepare our bedroom. A simple project, but one that made big steps in preparing my heart.

I’m so glad to have taken the time.

[As per my sister’s request, here is a tutorial on how to make the basket liners.]