Easy Wonky Rope Basket

This project is quite simple and enjoyable to make. There is many different variations that can be done with different size containers and different diameter ropes. The cool part about this basket is the unique shapes it makes over traditional rope baskets.

These baskets have a ton of uses, they can be used as planters, vases, waste bins, storage and are easily repeatable.

• Rope (thicker the better)
• Bucket or vase
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue
• Painters Tape
• Tape Measure or Ruler
• Pen or Pencil

The first step is one of the more important ones. Put a piece of painters tape across the bottom of the bucket. Using a tape measure mark the centre of the base. Next put two to four pieces of tape vertically down the sides of the bucket. The more strips of tape on the sides of the bucket the more strength your basket will later have. For my basket I wanted to be able to see some daylight through the rope so I only used three strips of tape.

Next step is to take the rope and glue the end to itself. If the end is frayed burn the tips before you glue it. Once the end is glued back on itself, begin coiling the rope until you have two or three turns and put a couple dabs of glue on the top of the coil to hold it together. (The visible dabs can be removed later)

Here begins the tedious but satisfying part. Begin coiling the rope around itself in a circle on the bottom of the bucket. Keep it as tight as possible and make sure its touching the previous wrap the whole way around. Every time the rope passes the side with tape under it, glue the rope to the previous wrap over top of the tape.

Once you completely cover the bottom in tightly wrapped rope. Continue wrapping up onto the side, the rope will naturally curl around the bucket and up the side. Again each time the rope passes over a piece of tape glue it to the previous wrap. This is where more pieces of tape means more glue joints and therefore more strength.

By now you have probably figured out how easy it is to wrap and glue the rope. Keep wrapping it all the way to the top of the bucket or to the desired height. The tighter you pull the rope as you wrap the tighter the final weave will be.

When you get to the top of the desired height cut the rope and glue the end to the previous rope above the last visible piece of tape. If the end is frayed, carefully melt it together with a lighter

Slowly slide the bucket out from the inside of the rope. If the glue is all on the tape it should slide right out while holding its form. Remove the tape from the inside. You can now shape the basket however you want, leave it perfectly straight or push the middle over a bit like I did. Once its shaped run a few lines of hot glue on the inside of the basket (this will maintain the shape).

This is a great time to really customize the basket. You can paint it any colour or label it using a stencil.

I painted mine black using two coats of spray paint. I Sprayed the basket right side up for the first coat and flip it upside down for the second to get full coverage.

For my basket I didn't add any handles because it will be used for toy storage. If you want to add handles there is a lot of options to customize them in different way. You can weave a matching piece of rope through the basket weave to make one large handle. You can also attach two smaller handles to either side by simply glueing them on or feeding them through the weave.