How to Make a Floral May Basket

Create a Decorative Plastic Canvas Cone with Flowers

Feb 5, 2008 Melissa Howard

Celebrate spring by leaving a basket of goodwill on your neighbor's doorstep. Make a May Basket!

May Day celebrations vary around the world. However, a common theme is that of filling a basket with flowers or candy and leaving it anonymously on someone’s doorstep. This basket combines the flower and basket into one piece and leaves you plenty of room for candy or some other treat.

Supplies

plastic canvas
fake flowers
beads
felt
scissors
thread and embroidery floss
needle
adhesive of choice

Instructions

Cut plastic canvas into a square.
Form a cone by pointing one corner of the square down and bringing the two edges that extend from it together.
Cut off the opposite point that extends above the cone (If you want you can cut off the two side corners as well but it is unnecessary.)
Let the canvas lay flat. It should look something like the canvas in Figure 1.
Use the canvas as a template to cut out a piece of felt.
Dismantle the flowers by pulling off the stems and the plastic pieces that hold them together, keep the petal circlets and leaf groups. Discard all plastic material. Sew the flowers to the plastic canvas using beads as the center of the blossoms. Use as many beads as necessary to make an appropriate sized center for the flower.
Once the entire outside of the canvas is covered with blossoms, glue the felt to the back of the canvas. Allow to dry.
Using co-ordinating embroidery floss, sew the two edges of the cone together. Make sure to catch the felt as this will help it to stay attached to the canvas.
Use embroidery floss around the rim of the basket to finish it off and to help attach the felt to the canvas.
Use floss to string a strand of beads to use as the handle for your basket.
Fill basket up with a treat of candy, soaps, or candles.
Let your child bring it to the door of a neighbor or an elderly person. Have them hang it on the knob, ring the bell, and run.

Additional Ideas

Attach a verse or two from a traditional May Day carol to your surprise.

The life of man is but a span, / It flourishes like a flower; / We are here to-day, and gone to-morrow, / And we are dead in one hour.

The moon shines bright, and the stars give light, / A little before it is day; / So God bless you all, both great and small, / And send you a joyful May!

Because the May Day celebrations vary, feel free to adapt it to your own style.

The copyright of the article How to Make a Floral May Basket in Crafts is owned by Melissa Howard. Permission to republish How to Make a Floral May Basket in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Figure 1 - May Basket on Door Knob