With this craft you can make a colorful centerpiece for the family table or a catchall for a growing collection. With this easy fabric-wrapping technique, both kids and adults will enjoy making their own basket.
YOU WILL NEED:
1 1/4 yards of cotton fabric (one color or several to equal this amount) cut or torn into about 20 strips 1 inch wide
Scissors
6 yards of 1/2 inch cotton piping cord
yard stick
Begin by cutting or tearing the fabric into 22 strips 1/2 inch wide. I was lucky that I could skip this step as I'd found some of these rolls of fabric already cut to the right width. If you are using the ribbon like I did, you'll need to cut it into lengths of 1 1/4 yards each.
Start wrapping a fabric strip around the cord, beginning at the cord's tip and overlapping each layer as shown.
After wrapping 4 inches of the cord, fold the wrapped section in half and wind the fabric around it to start the base coil. Make sure you leave a small gap in the end of the loop as you'll need to feed fabric through it.
Continue wrapping and coiling the cord, stopping every 2 inches to secure the coil by looking the fabric strip once around the last fabric-covered ring. When you reach the end of a strip, start the next one using the same overlapping technique.
Once the coil is about 6 inches wide, start building the sides of the basket by positioning the cord on top of the previous ring. Continue to secure the the coil every 2 inches.
To finish the basket (mine was 4 1/2 inches high and 8 inches in diameter), cut the cord at an angle. Loop the fabric strip around the adjacent ring, covering the end of the cord and securing it to the basket. Trim off and tuck in any excess fabric.
Just by luck, mine fit my flower pot perfectly!! Didn't even plan it that way.
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Friday, January 23, 2009 - Untitled Comment