DIY Braided Jute Basket

DIY Braided Basket @themerrythought One of my friends bought me a big braided jute basket for Christmas that I just love – I take it everywhere! I was staring at it the other day and thought… Okay, I can make one of those. So I grabbed some jute and got to braiding! I decided to make a smaller version for carrying around supplies for whatever project I’m working on.
DIY Braided Basket @themerrythought What you need:
Jute (I used an entire roll, if you want a bigger basket, buy two)
-Sewing Machine
*Optional -Leather

How to make it:
-Cut six – 10″ pieces of jute. Take three and stitch across the ends. Braid them together and then stitch up the other end. Repeat with other three pieces. (These will be the handles.)
-Cut three long pieces of jute, tie them in a loose knot at one end and start braiding them together. (You will have to do the braids in a few section or else they start getting tangled.) Make a loose knot in the second end.
-Repeat with as many sections as your jute will allow.
-Take all of your long braided sections and start sewing them together… Unknot them and finish the braid and then stitch the ends together to form one extremely long braid. Stitch across the very beginning and end of braid the keep them together like with the handles.
-Start at one end of the braid and form a circle. Start sewing the braids together by using a zig-zag stitch. Continue wrapping the circle and stitching the braids together until the circle is as wide as you want the base of your basket.
-Once you’ve got the base set, continue stitching around the circle but begin bending this row so that it is standing up once they’ve been stitched together.
-Continue sewing braids around to make the sides. (The base of your basket should be facing out, perpendicular to the ground while sewing this part.)
-When you have enough braid left for about 2 or 3 more rows, sew in your handles. Just stick them in between the rows your sewing together.
-To finish, gradually start sewing your end down into the inside of the basket so it tapers off. Trim the excess braid off.
-I added some leather to the handles just because I had some leftovers from another project.
DIY Braided Basket @themerrythoughtWovenBasket4 This project is a bit time consuming but totally worth it! Don’t worry about making your stitching perfect – it’s a pretty forgiving material and you can hand-stitch any big gaps easily afterwards.

We’d love to see yours if you try it!

xo. Caitlin

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