Talia Christine: fabric

I'm a sucker for wicker baskets. So is Phil. It's sorta dangerous when we go thrift-store shopping together and we come across a pile of wicker baskets. We have to hold ourselves down not to find reasons to bring home the whole lot! Phil brought this one home one day on his lunch break. It was the perfect washing basket and we immediately cleaned it up and put it to use. We've used it ever since but recently one of the handles broke. We still used it with one broken handle, but it was awkward to use. So I set to work on giving the poor little basket a makeover and gave it new life!

The best part is that it's easy as pie. I had all the supplies on hand and I got to use up some of the fabric scraps in my bucket. Win-win.

You'll need:
Basket
Fabric
Scissors
Knife (If you're removing the existing basket handles)

Carefully remove the basket handles with the knife if you are removing the existing handles. One of the handles on this basket was broken so I finished removing the handle then removed the handle from the other side.

Cut fabric strips into 2-3 inch widths and 18" in length. Tie any shorter length strips together if you have shorter scraps.

Tie three of the strips to the basket where you want the handle to be.

Begin braiding and add in the rest of the fabric. Braid it nice and loose and fluffy! Think so it'll be nice and comfy in your hands when you're picking up the basket.

Continue braiding until you've reached the length you desire for the handle. Tie the loose ends of the braid to the basket securely.

Repeat for the other side.

Now you've got a pretty new basket with some extra personality!

Easy as pie. I did this in a few minutes while the baby was up. I rarely craft when the baby is awake because it's too much chaos. She even tried to help.*

xoxo
Talia Christine

*I don't recommend babies playing with scissors... Err..

30.1.13

Today...

24.4.12

DIY Basket Makeover