Adventures in Basketweaving

Ok… already starting this post off with a lie. I didn’t really weave anything. I used a glue gun.

But, the cheap-o thrift store basket I re-found a few weeks ago (and then began using as a trash can in the laundry room, the one that inspired a photo of me in a wig) is now looking a little swankier with some manila rope.

First off: I didn’t know there was more than one kind of rope to do a project like this. I thought sisal rope was more of a generic phrase rather than a specific kind. And then I realized that there was a darker version… manila. Also, sidenote… how my brain apparently works: the name of the rope doesn’t immediately make me think of envelopes, which would be somewhat logical; it makes me think of funny names to market fragrances to dudes. Manila. Manana. Bacon (because that name is already manly enough).

So, now that this post has reached its quota for weird, let’s move on to the project: take a basket like this one.

Permanently glue the first line of rope to the base. I used E-6000 because I didn’t want there to be any chance it would come undone (which is a possibility with hot glue). The rope comes bound at both ends to keep it from fraying; I left it on.

Once it was secure, I switched to hot glue and just wrapped it around and around, gluing every few inches. It took an entire year (another lie, but countless episodes of Scrubs to estimate the approximate time, so I’m going with what it felt like… which is a year).

Once I got to the top, I wasn’t sure what to do with the handles. So I snipped them off (hmm… suddenly my reasons for still being single are becoming quite clear). And then, I added my own.

And continued to wrap until there was a small lip around the top (which looks kind of nice, actually).

I can’t say the handle part is really finished. I just kind of gave up and called it good, and stuck it back in the laundry room.

I may do something more to it at a certain point. Maybe paint the top like this or just add a different kind of rope to the handles (since there is an obvious line between two separate samples of rope from the same box!). I’ll wait for the inspiration to strike and make my move. Until then, my new basket is now not only functional, but more my style.

Have a great weekend!

The post Adventures in Basketweaving appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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