Blue Easter Basket, free pattern

I just quickly made up an Easter basket this morning using some acrylic yarn. It's basically the same idea from a couple of years ago when I made some little red Easter baskets.

this basket holds more than half a dozen chicken-sized eggs

the handle can be pinched into shape so it stands up

This time I used two strands of textured blue yarn, and a 4mm hook. The thickness of the yarn helps hold the basket upright. I finished off with some fluffy craft yarn along the top edge. The finished basket measures 11cm across the bottom, and is 7 cm high. The handle can stand up or it can be folded down along half the edge. The handle is simply a chain with a row of sc around it, this gives the handle a little substance.

Easter Basket pattern by Teena Sutton Murphy
gauge not necessary, the yarn and hook you use will determine the final size of the basket
I used two strands of thin textured acrylic yarn and a 4mm hook
1. 3 ch, sl st to form loop, 6 sc into loop, sl st into 1st sc
2. 1 ch, 2 sc into each st around (12 st), sl st into 1st sc
3. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next) repeated around (18 st), sl st into 1st sc
4. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 2) repeated around (24 st), sl st into 1st sc
5. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 3) repeated around (30 st), sl st into 1st sc
6. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 4) repeated around (36 st), sl st into 1st sc
7. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 5) repeated around (42 st), sl st into 1st sc
8. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 6) repeated around (48 st), sl st into 1st sc
9. 1 ch, sc into back loop of every st (48 st), sl st into 1st sc
10-21. 1 ch, sc into every st around (48 st), sl st into 1st sc
22. 24 ch, skip 24, sl st, sl st into next, 24 sc around ch back to start of round 22, sl st, fasten off
23. in fluffy yarn, sc into every st around the edge, fasten off

detail of the inside of the basket

Red and Black Basket

I started this basket on Monday 16th July while I waited for the doctor. Taking along a crochet project to the doctor's waiting room has become a necessity, as invariably she will keep me waiting, sometimes up to 50 minutes.

red, black and grey basket I made for my husband

 I asked my husband if I could make him something and he said a basket for his desk would be useful, so I planned to make this for quite a while. His birthday is next month so I made a start on it, but it took a lot less time to finish than I thought, taking just a couple of hours. Using 7mm hook and red, black and grey acrylic, the base is a flat circle of sc. Before stopping to increase I did 2 rounds of cables at the increase, the other stitches in those rounds are bpdc to keep the height the same. It created an interesting corner at the base of the basket. Up the sides I spiralled instead of sl st then ch, so the starts are invisible. I then used a yarn needle to sew in each of the 3 yarns for a neat finish.

This is a gift for my husband's birthday, I hope he finds it useful.

Another Green Basket

This was made with the same yarn as the first basket I did, but the bottom circle was different so its sides are straighter.

2nd green basket

The bottom circle starts with a round of 6 sc, followed by a second round of 12 sc. Although it has 8 rounds, 2 more than the other basket, it should have end up larger but it didn't. I think that might be because the first basket has a bottom circle that is not flat, instead it is a bit hyperbolic because it started with too many stitches. For this one, I used the same 3 strands of acrylic as the last basket, white, aqua and dark green, and a 7mm hook.

This basket might come in handy holding socks for Thomas. They have been turning out to be hard to find in a hurry!

Small Scallop Edged Basket

While I was putting my baby to sleep tonight (last Friday night), I thought about what I didn't do quite right with the last basket. So I whipped up this one quickly after he was asleep to see if I had it right yet.

small scallop edge basket

This basket was inspired by a small scalloped edged basket I saw on pinterest, which comes from a blog called Mountain Mama. I didn't follow her pattern, but she does have a free one there on her site. Instead I did the basket with sc like the last one I did, but this time I used a 6.5mm hook. Again I used 3 pieces of acrylic yarn, this time a purple and an apricot coloured one my mum gave me, along with the nice aqua acrylic I used in the last basket.

inside small scallop edge basket

I started with 6 sc in the first round, then 12 in the 2nd. The 3rd round has 18 sc and the 4th round has 24 sc. Then I started up the sides no longer increasing, I spiral so there is no seam. There's only about 3 rounds up the sides, then I put the scallops along the top. Because I had counted ahead I had planned to be able to do this. With 24 stitches in the round, I could do 6 scallops. Each scallop is 5 hdc.

side view of small scallop edge basket

This is a very simple little basket I will use myself to put my hair ties into on my dresser. This little project took me about 20 minutes to whip up. I really enjoy making a useful item with my crochet skill, its very handy and satisfying!

Mottled Green Acrylic Basket

I was inspired by a photo I saw of a basket made from yarn, so I made one myself this morning!

crochet basket made with acrylic yarn

The photo I saw was on a blog called Crochet in Color, I know she spelt colour wrong, didn't she? (lol, just kidding, we spell it differently in Australia). She suggested 3 to 4 pieces of yarn held together and a 7 or 8mm hook. As suggested by Liz, I spiralled up the sides instead of sl st each row, so there is no seam to see. I also crochet the last round of the base so that the loops show on the outside, as suggested.

mottled green crochet basket

I used a 7mm hook and 3 yarns held together to make this basket. I used white, dark green and aqua acrylic my mother-in-law gave me at Easter. I really like how the colours came together like this. I found this a lot easier than making a basket out of plarn, which I have tried. That's quite hard on your hands. This is too, but not as much. I also found using T-yarn hard on your hands. I think I'd must rather make baskets out of acrylic if I have enough to use, like this great stash I scored from my MIL.

handle detail of green basket

This basket will become my 'indulge' basket on my dresser. You probably know what's like with a small child, you just don't get a moment spare for yourself. I had to go through my dresser yesterday to make room for a vaporiser as we're all really sick with flu at the moment. I realised I have a bunch of beauty treatments that I'm not using, so they will go into this nice basket. When I get a moment to myself, I hope to quickly grab something and slap it on!

Green and Fluffy Easter Basket

 

Here is another Easter basket, just for the fun of it!

This time I made it with green craft yarn using a 4mm hook. I finished with a row of sc (UK dc) in fluffy craft yarn. Just what you need to help little ones pass out easter eggs to the family - cute and fluffy Easter baskets!

Two Red Easter Baskets

I whipped up these two baskets while Thomas was sleeping, we might use them for Easter this year when my young nephews come to visit.

I used some fluffy craft yarn I got from Lincraft on special, and some plain red yarn for the larger basket. I didn't follow a pattern for these, I just made them up using a 4mm hook.

My pattern for an Easter basket

1. ch 3 sl st in 1st chain to form loop
2. 8 sc (UK dc) in loop, sl st
3. ch 1, 2 sc in every st, sl st (16 sc)
4. ch 1, 2 sc in 1st st, (1 sc in next, 2 sc in next) to end, sl st (24 st)
5. ch 1, 2 sc in 1st st, (1 sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in next) to end, sl st (32 st)
6. ch 1, 2 sc in 1st st, (1 sc in next 3 st, 2 sc in next) to end, sl st (40 st)
7. ch 1, 1 sc in every st, sl st
8. repeat row 7 until desired height is reached, then 20 ch and  sl st to opposite to form handle, embelish with a row of fluffy craft yarn

Restoring an Old Dusty Cane Basket.

I've had this cane basket for ages, I really liked it so have hung unto it. It would make a great bread basket when serving bread rolls for guests, if it was clean!

This was in such bad shape I was thinking I would have to chuck it, but I didn't because I have inherited that 'I can't throw stuff away' thing from my mum! So I picked it up this morning and had a go at weaving back in the loose cane threads and decided to look up how to clean cane on the internet.

I found a site that explained how to clean cane baskets, which also had other information about wicker. I found out from there that I shouldn't submerge my cane in water. Good thing I read that first, as I was considering it! You clean the dust off the cane with a brush, like a toothbrush, which is what I used. This site also suggested using linseed oil to polish it up. Now, I know that stuff is expensive and wondered if I could just use olive oil. I have heaps of that as I buy it  in lots of 4L when it's $5 per L. So I did a google search and found something about using olive oil to polish wood furniture. So I used the recipe, figuring what's the worst that could happen? I could ruin the cane and throw out something I was going to throw out anyway.

Instead of vinegar, I choose the lemon juice option as I thought that would smell better. I think it does smell nice now, a little like new cane from the shops, which makes me wonder if they use something similar. I put 3 parts olive oil to one part lemon juice in a recycled garlic jar and shook it up. Using the toothbrush, I rubbed a little of the mixture to clean and polish the cane. I then left the basket in the sun to dry. Since then I've used it as a bread basket when David made up a beautiful batch of sweet bread rolls.

I made a label for the jar in case I needed to use it again soon, and stuck it on with some wood glue. It was my first excuse to use the new pinking shears I invested in yesterday. They were so expensive, but I was assured it was an excellent brand so I'm going to really look after them so they last me forever!