My sewing studio remains unfinished (until Tuesday that is) so I’ve been continuing my ventures into the world of woven baskets… and I’m getting hooked, my friends. These are so gratifying to create, both aesthetically pleasing and practical.
And I’ve moved them up in scale to ‘floor baskets.’ Naturally, I imagine using these to house knitting necessities, but they also work well for toys (canine, baby, or otherwise), socks, electronics…
And hey, I guess you could still use them for candy, like the smaller ones, if you’re so inclined.
And as promised, here’s a quick tutorial. It’s basically the same process as the smaller baskets; the only difference is that you double over the strips that you work with. The extra strength is necessary to keep the taller sides sides standing and sturdy.
Materials: Felt off the bolt cut in 2-yard lengths (you can use as few as 1 color, or as many as you like), and hot glue.
1. Cut your strips. I vary the number of base strips from 12 to 14 (the example shows 14, seven each of one color) and use five top strips. Cut strips that are 1 1/4″-wide, and cut along the 2-yard length of your felt so they’re 72″ long.
2. Lay seven base strips next to one another. As you work with the strips throughout this entire process, keep them doubled over (folded at the middle) so you’re always working with twice the thickness.
3. Weave in the remaining seven base strips horizontally. Aim to have the woven base roughly in the center of the strips.
4. Create your top rings. Glue together the two open ends of one folded over ring, then glue that sealed end to the opposite, folded-over end of the ring. Create five top rings in this manner.
5. Lay the first top ring around the woven base. Pull every other base strip through the center and over the top of the ring.
6. Pull the remaining every other strip over the ring from the outside in.
7. Repeat with the second top ring. Lay it on top of the first, then take the strips from the inside out, and the outside in.
8. Continue until you have woven in all five top rings.
9. Take one of the strips coming from the inside out, and trim it so it’s about 1/2″ longer than the bottom of the top ring.
10. Glue together the open ends. Then tuck the glued ends underneath the top ring, and glue it in place. Glue carefully so there’s no excess bleeding out. Hold firmly and allow the glue to dry before continuing.
11. Use the same method to finish the ends that are coming from the outside in. Trim the ends, glue them together, tuck the end underneath, and glue it in place.
12. Continue finishing the ends all the way around. Be sure to pull on the weave as you work to make sure it’s tight and even. When you’re done, you may want to go back through with the hot glue to reseal any open areas.
Of course, you could make these even larger by layering two 72″-long strips, rather than folding them over, which would give you twice the length to work with for a larger base and wider top rings.
And the number of colors you use for the base strips really changes the final look.
We’re having a lazy, low-key weekend since Kyle got his wisdom teeth out yesterday morning. Not super fun for him, but admittedly kind of nice to take it easy after quite a few whirlwind days of entertaining in our new home. I even had time to venture over to my favorite discount fabric store this morning and discovered that they stock this eco-friendly felt off the bolt in abundance… I see many more baskets in my future.
I LOVE these baskets!!