Nesting Fabric Trinket Dishes – Free Sewing Pattern

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Fabric trinket dishes are so easy to make, and you can use them for so many different things! The first ones I made used charm packs (5″ squares of fabric) because I had a lot of charm packs on hand and was looking for a fun way to use them. But I also collect a lot of layer cakes (10″ squares) and thought they would be great for trinket dishes too!

But why stop there? Once I figured out the measurements for making these with 10″ squares, I decided to make a bunch of other sizes too. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make nesting fabric baskets in seven different sizes!

How to Make Any Size of Trinket Dish

The basic instructions for making a trinket dish are the same for all sizes. The only real difference is the size that you cut the corners. I’ve created a chart that tells you what size to cut the fabric and the corners.

You can make these just by measuring and cutting the fabric as instructed. No pattern required! Once you make a few, you can easily make them in other sizes not included in the chart.

While there’s not a printable pattern, I did make a printable set of instructions with a handy chart. It has helpful diagrams as well. You can download this for free in my Ko-Fi shop.

Supplies & Materials

Here’s what you need to make a fabric basket in any size. Check the size chart for fabric requirements.

• Quilting fabric – my favorite shop is Green Fairy Quilts
• Quilt batting or other stabilizer material
• ODIF 505 or another fabric adhesive if not using fusible batting
• Straight pins and/or quilting clips
• Fabric scissors
• Fabric chalk
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Iron & Ironing board
• Rotary cutter & cutting mat
• Quilting ruler
• Needle for hand-sewing

Trinket Dish Size Chart

For this project, you will need four squares of fabric for each trinket dish. Two will be for the liner, and two are for the outside. Here’s what size to cut your fabric:

Approx. Finished Size (diameter of base)	Fabric Cutting Size (cut 4 pieces)	Corner Cutting Size (cut after sewing)
2″	4″ squares	0.75″
2.5″	5″ squares (you can use charm packs)	1″
3″	6″ squares	1.25″
3.5″	7″ squares	1.5″
4″	8″ squares	1.75″
4.5″	9″ squares	2″
5″	10″ squares (you can use layer cakes)	2.25″

Preparing Your Fabric

1. Cut 4 squares of fabric to the correct size based on the chart. Remember two are for the liner and two will be the outer fabric. You can choose one color for the outer and one for the liner. Or make all 4 squares from a different pattern — it’s up to you!
2. Next, attach your batting or interfacing to the wrong side of your outer fabric pieces. You may wish to have your batting be slightly smaller than the fabric (about 1/4″ smaller on all sides) to prevent bulky seams. This isn’t necessary for thin interfacing or stabilizers that are easy to sew through.
3. If you like, you can quilt through the batting and outer fabric. It’s easiest to do this before sewing.

Sewing the Tops

1. Place one piece of your outer fabric right-sides-together with a piece of the liner fabric. Pin along one of the edges. If you have a fabric with a directional print, make sure to pin along the top edge (with the pattern pointing up towards the pins).
2. Place your other pieces of liner and outer fabric together in the same way and pin across one edge.
3. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch across the pinned edges, removing the pins as you get to them.
4. After sewing, press the fabric with an iron so the seam is going towards the liner (away from the outer fabric).

Sewing the Sides & Bottom

1. Place the two fabric pieces so that the liner is over top of the liner and the outer fabric is over the outer (right sides together).
2. Pin around the outside.
3. Sew around the outside with a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a gap in the bottom of the liner so that you can turn the bag.

Note: The size of the bottom gap will depend on what size you are making. You want to make sure the gap is big enough to turn the bag. However, you don’t want it so large that you cut into the gap when trimming the corners in the next step.

Cutting the Corners

1. Use a quilting ruler to trace a square into each corner. Refer to the chart above to see what size you should cut.
2. When tracing, make sure you’re measuring to the edge of the fabric and you’re tracing a perfect square.
3. After tracing, cut out each corner with sharp fabric scissors.

Tip: Depending on the size, you can throw the corners in your scrap collection and save them for projects like crumb quilting! See post below:

How to Quilt with Tiny Fabric Scraps (Crumb Quilting)

Sewing the Corners

1. Take one of the corners and fold it so the right sides are touching and the seams are in the middle. Nest the seams so that one is pointing one way and one the other way. This will make them look neater on the finished dish!
2. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch across the corner. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end.
3. Repeat with the other three corners.

Finishing the Trinket Dish

1. Turn the dish right side out using the opening in the bottom of the liner. Reach inside the liner and poke the corners out so they look nice.
2. Stitch the opening closed using your machine or an invisible ladder stitch.
3. Press the rim of the dish with an iron to make it lay nicely. Depending on how thick your batting is, you might be able to hold the inside of the dish while ironing the other seams on the outside – please be careful not to burn yourself!
4. Lastly, do some top stitching along the rim of the dish. This might be a little tricky on the smaller sizes, so it’s up to you if you want to do it! I do my top stitching about 1/4″ away from the edge.

Happy Sewing!

Thanks so much for following along and making these with me. I hope you love this pattern as much as I do! If you loved this tutorial and want to support me, please consider making a contribution on my Ko-Fi page.