Noodlehead Divided Basket | Sewing Pattern Review

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I love sewing home accessories. Here is my sewing pattern review for the Noodlehead Divided Basket.

I’ve been going through a Noodlehead phase lately. I’ve made a few of their pouch designs as well as a tote.

I must admit that this divided basket caught my eye a while ago. I waited for the sewing pattern to go on sale (Black Friday is a good time) and so I finally got around to making it.

The Noodlehead Divided Basket

The Noodlehead Divided Basket is a practical project that results in storage for any room of the room.

It has an internal divider, an exterior pocket, and handles. What more could you ask for?

This basket would make a great base for a baby shower gift or a housewarming gift. Fill it with goodies and you’re good to go!

The basket is structured with the help of flex-foam and so it stands on its own. I’ve seen other designs that are floppy and to me, that’s not practical, nor is it a good look as it has to always be full in order to look good.

This sewing pattern is designed for woven fabrics. As with most Noodlehead designs, a variety of fabrics can be used. Some fabric suggestions include:

The variety of fabrics out there can lead to so many options. You can match the decor or design it as a pretty accent.

You’ll probably want a minimum of 2 but can go with 3 different fabrics. There’s the exterior fabric, the exterior pocket, and the interior lining. You can make each part a different fabric or double up on 2, or even all 3!

In addition to the fabric, you’ll need some flex foam to help maintain the structure of the basket, as well as some interfacing. For the handles, you have 2 stated options – fabric or fabric-covered webbing.

Sewing Pattern Review

The Noodlehead Divided Basket is described as a sewing pattern for an advanced beginner. I would agree with that. The interior lining with the divider was perhaps the most fiddly part of the construction. There are lots of good photos and easy-to-follow directions to help you through it.

Typical with this type of pattern is the need for interfacing. The added flex-foam which provides structure to the basket makes this perhaps not the most economical project. I would love to make a ton of these and gift them, but I must admit that the flex-foam is not cheap! Another option was fusible fleece, but I found that it did not have the structure that I wanted.

As with all of the Noodlehead patterns I’ve made so far, this entire pattern can be sewn with a regular sewing machine. In fact, I prefer using a sewing machine as the seams can be pressed open, thereby reducing bulk and making it easier to sew.

As I used a lot of home decor fabric for mine, I must admit it can get quite thick to sew. Consider a few layers of fabric, plus the flex-foam and it can be rather substantial. Just be careful when sewing. When going over the thick seams, I admit that I hand-cranked my sewing machine to carefully get through all the layers.

There are a couple of options for the handles. You can make fabric handles or cover some webbing with fabric. I preferred the durability of the fabric-covered webbing and thought it looked really nice with the contrasting webbing peeking through.

Another option would be to make the Noodlehead Divided Basket using leather handles, attached with rivets. I really like that look as well. Instead of rivets, some like to use Chicago screws, which are similar but a little stronger. I guess it depends on how heavy the basket is going to be and how often you will be carrying it around. I like to use an awl to help puncture the fabric in order to apply the rivets.

As mentioned, once you get over the construction of the lining the pattern is really not that hard to sew. I am able to make one in an afternoon easily.

Look at how lovely these baskets look and who can ignore that practicality of them? You could easily have one in every room!

I really love this pattern and hope to make more. I just need to find a more economical way to get the flex-foam. I’ll have to keep an eye out for some sales! Unfortunately, stuff like that doesn’t go on sale often, but it does if you’re patient.

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