If you’re anything like me then you live in a world which can never have enough baskets. It doesn’t matter how many you buy, or how much you declutter. I find myself searching for an empty vessel (flashback to that poem… iykyk) daily for toys, crafty bits and bobs, new projects, kitchen collections, bathroom products, makeup and on and on and on. So being able to make your own from cardboard you would usually have to recycle has changed my life!
Once I’d made this basket I remember I’d make something really similar back in 2016 with paper! This is definitely an improvement, but I still think these are really cute!
This is a great way to reuse what you have to hand already, but here are some of the tools I used to make my basket:
Cutting mat, quilters ruler and rotary cutter
Double sided tape
Glue gun and glue sticks
So let’s turn a cardboard box into a useful storage basket! I’ll show you how below:
Woven Cardboard Box Basket Tutorial:
Step 1:
Remove any tape or staples from your cardboard box, then cut it into 10 strips 1” wide x 18” long. These will make up the base of your box.
Step 2:
Cut 10 pieces of fabric 2.4” x 19”. This creates strips long and wide enough to cover both sides of your cardboard. Using either glue or double sided tape (the latter is less messy) adhere the fabric to the cardboard strip. Do this by placing the strip in the middle of the fabric and folding over the two sides.
Trim the ends of the fabric flush with the cardboard and add a little PVA or glue stick to secure to fabric in place and stop fraying.
Step 3:
Take 5 of your fabric covered strips and tape them to a table to secure them in place. Weave the other five strips into these alternating the pattern to create a woven base. Ensure they are evenly placed and there is the same distance left on each side.
To make the sides of the basket you need to cut three more strips of cardboard. This time 1” x 26” to create a single strip that will wrap around all four sides. Cut and cover in fabric as before.
Start weaving the longer strip along one side of the basket base, ensuring the end will be hidden behind (inside the basket) one of the base strips. When you reach the edge of the woven base fold the cardboard 90 degrees and continue to weave along the second side. This should cause the base strips to also fold up 90 degrees creating the foundations for the sides.
Make sure to keep the pattern as you turn the corners and use clips to hold the pieces in place as you go. Continue around the four sides of the basket until you reach the end of the strip.
Step 4:
Weave the next two strips into the basket in the same way – make sure you go under where you went over on the last row to keep the pattern going.
Once you have woven all three strips into the basket fold the excess back into the inside of the basket and glue into place with hot glue.
