Vinyl Grocery Basket

Since I live across the street from two different grocery stores and around the corner from a produce stand, I wanted some sort of basket to carry my groceries in if I decided to walk there. Also I rarely buy enough stuff to justify a push cart, but often there aren’t baskets by the front door.

Initially I was going to sew it out of canvas, but didn’t want to look like a shop lifter tucking things away into a bag. I figured something out of clear vinyl would be less suspicious.

I went to Joann Fabrics and picked up the thickest clear vinyl they had. As it turns out, two yards was way too much…

The main basket was pretty simple, just a big old box sewn from five panels. I left the seams facing out since the vinyl was thick enough I didn’t think it would agree to being turned inside out.

I’d later be putting a metal frame around the top to hold the shape and attach handles, so I folded over the top inch or so and sewed a sort of tube running around the top perimeter.

I picked up these inexpensive tie-down straps to make the handle out of; they ended up being a better deal than just the nylon webbing by itself.

I sewed a small loop at the ends that the frame could slide through.

Next was to cut notches in the top tube part where I wanted the handles to attach.

I bent the frame out of 1/4” steel rod. I carefully measured where I wanted to make my bends, heated the corners with a blowtorch, and made my bends in a vice, ending up with a rectangle 15”x11”. I had to make it out of two shorter pieces I had on hand, and just welded them together. If you don’t have a welder, you could either adjust your basket size according to what lengths of frame material you have available, or cut each side separately and not worry about keeping the corners rigid.

I left a separation in one of the long sides of the frame so I could feed it through the tube sewn in the top of the basket.

This was definitely the worst part of the whole project, I almost regretted picking such heavy duty vinyl. I probably spent as much time wrestling the frame in as on the rest of the project. I had to be careful to remember to include each handle as I got to their notches. Overall the basket was quick and simple, however if I were to make any more this is the step I’d have to reexamine and probably find some sort of alternative.

To give the bottom some rigidity, I used corrugated plastic. This is the same stuff political and yard sale signs are made out of. It cuts easy with a few passes of an xacto knife. I held it in place with a piece of self adhesive Velcro in each corner.

And that’s it! If it weren’t for having to wrestle in the top frame, this would have been a super quick and easy one. Only thing left is to take it for a test run!

It worked great! All of my groceries made it home, and no one accused me of trying to smuggle produce out of the store, I’d call that a win!

View this project on Instagram.