Project #2: Hand-Stitched Coiled Fabric Baskets

Confession. I have a bunch of desk toys at work. This project was inspired by needing somewhere to keep them all because my collection keeps growing. There's only so many squishy stress balls that you can balance on a monitor stand. I made the one for work with no pictures but I had enough supplies left over to make more and take pictures.

Supplies:

Cotton cord.

I've had this quite a while but the ticket was still stapled to the bag so I know I paid $0.29/yard at Hobby Lobby. I would guess it's 1/2 inch. I had 20 yards (better safe than sorry!) and this is what was left after the first basket I made. I'm guessing about 10 yards left.

String and a big fat needle. 

I was going to use embroidery thread but I found this crochet thread on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $1.89. Worked well enough and I had a ton left over. I had the needle in my sewing supplies and it was very blunt. It worked but my fingertips wished I had splurged on a sharp one.  

Fabric.

I raided my stash of fat quarters. For the toy basket I used a little over 2 fat quarters all together. On this one I used one whole and 3 or 4 strips of a second one.  

A cute doggy.

And last but not least, a couple of good movies. This takes a while.

I did not cut a length of cord for these baskets. I started with the end, worked until I was happy with the size, and cut it off.

Bonus Project!

Swapping out the cotton cord for this clothesline and the crochet thread for bright colored embroidery thread I made smaller ones! I bought a 50 ft package of clothesline at Mighty Dollar for $1. Worked perfect for this project. I made a pencil cup for my desk and a tiny basket with handles for pictures of steps I forgot to capture on the big basket.

Step 1

Cut strips of fabric. Make small cuts in the end and then rip. I like the frayed edges.

Step 2

Cover the end. This cord stuff frays like crazy. 

Step 3

Start a coil, wrapping the fabric around the cord as you go. I went with a bit of an oval for this one. 

Step 4

This is the only step where I tied a knot at the end of the string. With the long tail of the cord at the top stitch through the coil from the bottom to the top. I only did it once for circles but for the oval I did it 3 times, that's why it's off center. For a circle go straight through the middle. Or not. Whatever you want to do. 

Step 5

Start stitching. Like a dufus I didn't take a picture of this from the big basket. Project 2. I'll get better. 

Pull the needle and thread through, wrap behind the top row, bring the needle up through the fabric of the top of the row below it, repeat. Sometimes I went 2 or 3 rows down to tighten up the coil.  

When you get to the end of one strip, just overlap the edge of the previous and keep going.

To end a string, leave a little bit of a tail and pull through the cord. Pull it tight and cut it off or leave the tail and wrap it with the next bit of fabric. 

To start new string, don't tie a knot at the end but go through and inch or so of cord and come through. The tension of the next few stitches will hold it in place. 

I got to the size of base I was happy with and got ready to start working on the height. These could totally be made for coasters. Or a rug if you have like a million hours to spare. 

Step 6

Build the sides. Once again I don't have a picture of the transition from base to sides on the big basket.

 Instead of keeping the cord level just start overlapping the row below it. 

To add handles, double stitch before the handle, make a handle shape, wrap the thread (or not), and double stitch on the other side. 

Keep going until you have the height you want. I used a whole fat quarter and then stopped. I switched to a different color for one row at the top and ended it with a swirl on the front. Wrap the tail end just like the beginning end and stitch it down. 

Done!

For my first basket I went with round and a height I thought would be be tall enough. It is about 8 inches wide and 8 inches tall. No swirly on the front of this one. I just wrapped the end and stitched it down. 

I love how this turned out. The curved shape was completely unintentional at first. I noticed it happening by the red thread and then I just went with it and made it smaller on purpose at the top. I decided the shape makes sense so it won't be as likely to tip over when I fill it with pens. 

Until next time!

EDIT:

Got them on my desk and put them to work!

How adorable is that tiny basket full of paperclips?!

Looks like I already need to make a bigger one.

Pinterest Project Number 1: String Art!

I did not decide to start writing about my Pinterest escapades until after my first Pinterest Project Weekend so the photos for this project will not be that great. String art was one of the first pins I made to my Artsy Fartsy board.

 I went to Hobby Lobby looking for a good size wooden plaque for this project and found this slice of wood. I love the bark around the edges and thought it was perfect. It was $10.99 but I used a 40% off coupon and scored it for $6.59. I would say it's close to 8.5 x 11. If you printed a design on one piece of paper it would fit. Except maybe the far edges of the corners.

(Yeah. No before pictures. Flipped over the finished project for the raw, unfinished side.)

(PS if you shop at Hobby Lobby and own a smart phone but don't have the Hobby Lobby app, GET IT. There's a 40% off one item coupon you can use every time you walk in the door.)

Nosy Kitty. 

I've never used Polyurethane before but it was easier than I expected. I got the kind that cleans up with soap and water hoping it wouldn't be crazy smelly and it wasn't. I used it in my tiny craft room and it was hardly noticeable. The polyurethane was $6.62 from Lowes and I still have a lot left after 4 coats. I used a cheap 1 inch paint brush to apply it. I paid $1 for 3 pack, I think, from Mighty Dollar. I didn't end up with the shine I wanted but I didn't sand between coats and after 4 coats I was done fooling with it. It looked good enough.

Shiny enough for reflections anyway.

I drew an A, a J, and a heart on card stock with a ruler and a sharpie and cut them out. I stuck them to my shiny piece of wood with rolled up masking tape.

I used this little scrap of card stock to space out the nails. It didn't work exactly right but I made each end of the letters have 4 nails and you can't really tell they aren't spaced out perfectly even.

The nails were $1.30 from Lowes. I probably used less than half of them. I used a small hammer from a cheap tool set.

Now the fun part! I used embroidery thread I had in my craft supplies, but they are around $0.40 each at craft stores. I found some metallic thread that I didn't even remember I had. It was in a set of Christmas colors that was somewhere around $8.00 from a craft store. The metallics are DMC brand. The other 5 probably are too. I used light blue and tan for the A, dark blue and brown for the J, metallic red and metallic pinky-purpley for the heart, and dark gray for the outline. I don't have a picture of it without the outline but it was hard to see the A with the cutout in the middle. That was why I tried the outline. I like the way it turned out. To start the thread I made a loop around one nail and added a dot of tacky glue. Then wrapped and wrapped and wrapped and wrapped! I layered the colors but it would be fine with one color or even two colors at the same time. To finish the thread I tied a knot, cut it off, and added a dot of tacky glue.

And this is the end result!  

I'll be doing this again! And next time I'll take pictures before and during. Until next time!

So... Pinterest. Hello.

First Blog Post! Hello!

I was strongly opposed to Pinterest for years for who knows why. I caved. Peer pressure. But then I was mostly just confused by it. And as a computer programmer I was embarrassed that I could probably write the dang thing but couldn't figure out how to use it. I've spent a ridiculous number of hours looking at crafty tutorials, blogs, and YouTube videos and saving Better Homes and Gardens and Good Housekeeping pictures.

Last week I decided enough is enough! Pinterest was made for people just like me!

At first I was afraid my pins would make me look stupid so I didn't pin anything. That's when I was introduced to secret boards! I could pin and pin and pin and nobody else would see a thing. Awesomeness on a web page. A secret, non-judgmental web page. And from there I was no-looking-back-obsessed-head-over-heels hooked. I'm slowing beginning the transition to public boards. But I'm not rushing it.

I tried my first few projects from Pinterest this weekend. Mostly successful, one sort of fail. I decided I want to share with the world! So stay tuned!