A Simple Basket
I have been looking for simple patterns for my Old Cambridge Pike collection, which has a lot of pinks and browns in it.
The theme is the generation called Young America, particularly the people in Massachusetts, where the Old Cambridge Pike ran, so I looked through some of the mid-19th-century quilts documented by the Massachusetts quilt project Mass Quilts.
Basket quilt top made by Anna Swain Coffin (1849-1915)
Nantucket, Massachusetts
And here's the perfect 19th-century quilt, a simple basket. It looks like the baskets are a variety of sizes---smaller ones on the left, larger on the bottom. This is one of three tops Anna's family brought in for documentation.
I found the picture in the Quilt Index.
The record:
Then I looked around for more simple baskets
and found these two discovered by the Connecticut project.
Old Cambridge Pike is primarily reproductions of fabrics from the mid-19th century. I was glad to see basket quilts dated before the Civil War, the same time as the prints in the line.
Here's one date-inscribed 1858 from my file of dated quilts
It differs in the way the base is constructed but it's a simple,
empty basket.
Same construction: Perhaps 1860-1890 from the Quilt Index.
Four baskets in a sampler made in Rahway,
New Jersey, date-inscribed 1864, from Laura Fisher's online shop.
Another date-inscribed example from 1890.
Three from the early 20th century perhaps.
The pattern was popular before it was published and given a name. It's in BlockBase, my computerized quilt ID and drawing program. There were three basic variations published,
differing in proportions, how the base is pieced and the shape of the handles.
Some names and dates of publication:
Fruit Basket - Hearth & Home, about 1915
Little Basket - Hearth & Home, about 1915
Basket - Dakota Farmer, 1927
Baby Basket - Mary McElwain, 1930s
Tiny Basket, Carrie Hall, 1935
The May Basket, Kansas City Star, 1941
1880-1900
A square handle from the 1930s.
Terrific color from the 1960s (?)
From Buckboard Antiques
Below is a free pattern for an 8" baby basket.
I'd alternate the light/dark shading in the blocks
and do a half-drop strip repeat to echo Anna Swain Coffin's.
She made 99 baskets.
The Handle Templates
How to print:Create a word file or a new empty JPG file that is 8-1/2" x 11".
Click on the image above.
Right click on it and save it to your file.
Print that file out 8-1/2" x 11". The top side of the block should measure about 8".
Adjust the printed page size if necessary.
Rotary Cutting
Cutting an 8" Basket
A - Cut a light and a dark square 6-7/8". Cut into 2 triangles. You need 1 triangle of each color for each basket.
B - Cut 2 rectangles 2-1/2" x 4-1/2".
C - Cut a square 4-7/8". Cut into 2 triangles. You need 1 triangle.
D - Cut a square 2-7/8". Cut into 2 triangles. You need 2 triangles.
E - The basket handle is appliqued to A before you piece the block together. There are two choices
on the pattern. Cut 12" of 7/8" bias strip (3/8" finished)
How to piece it.
