I have given in and gone after the trend, copied the masses and followed the crowd. Yes…. I too made rope bowls this past Christmas! It seemed everywhere I turned on Instagram last month there was photo after photo of rope bowls being made. Gifts for teachers, parents and friends – and, in my case – my sister.
I am pretty sure I saw this idea a few years ago somewhere. But the tutorial I used to start me off was only written in September of last year. Flossie Teacakes has a great tutorial post with some good tips on how to make them work. Since my sister crochets, I found a pretty blue skein at my local quilting/yarn shop to add to the mix. Hopefully it’s a nice one. That’s what the employee told me anyhow!
I decided to wrap fabric around some of the coils, added handles to one basket – and in general tried to make three different “nesting” bowls without making them all the same. The fabric was a great scrap buster and I would have used up a lot more scraps had I not gotten tired of wrapping fabric. It’s a bit fiddly to make it lie straight along the rope – or maybe I’m just not patient enough!
A good tip for wrapping the rope? I used a 1″ strip, unfinished, and glued it to the rope with my glue stick. It worked wonderfully and I didn’t have to hold it in place, which was nice. I also have some photos of how I finished the ends with a fabric tab and wrapped the rope with fabric successfully, so if you want a mini tutorial on that just ask and I’ll post them.
As you can see from the myriad of photos, I really like how these turned out. These baskets sew up quick. They are pretty cost effective and really addictive to make.And they are uber-fun to photograph, looking lovely on my favorite white background!
Have you made any rope baskets yet? What was your favorite part?
Isn’t this really hard on the sewing machine? I’d like to try but I don’t want o wreck my new sewing machine!
I was surprised, it didn’t seem bad for the machine at all! The rope is made of woven cotton woven around a soft interior coil, more like sewing through a few layers of fabric – nothing hard to sew through, more like a “soft thickness” – if that makes sense. It might help to use a new needle – maybe even a leather or jeans needle, if you are worried about it – since they would likely go through the rope more easily. Congrats on the new machine, by the way! LOVE that feeling! 🙂 Have fun with it.
I have made the baskets before but wrapped them entirely in fabric. I love the way these look. Can’t wait to make one. I would love to see how you finished the ends with the fabric tabs.
Thanks Pat! It is much faster to make them without wrapping the entire basket as well 🙂
I love your baskets – the little fabric tab is such a good idea for concealing the end of the rope! x
Thanks Florence! I love the little pop of colour!
do you sell the rope baskets?
Hi Toni. Not at the moment, I am sure you could find some for sale on a handmade website.