Knit a Basket to Use Up Some Stash

Baskets are a perennial trend in home decor, but especially this time of year when we’re all trying to get a little more organized.

With this pattern for a geometric basket from purl3agony, you can use up some of your yarn stash to make a place to store other things (maybe tiny balls of yarn?).

It uses two different kinds of yarn in her version, but you could always make stripes to use up odd balls if you want. A plastic bowl in the bottom gives it stability, and you could work the same kind of project in different sizes to suit different needs and cover different sized containers.

The base is worked in one piece from the center out, then the sides are picked up and worked in the round, which makes it easy to adjust the size.

Do you have any knit baskets? What do you use them for? I have a giant crocheted basket that’s more like a bag because the sides are floppy that’s always full of some kind of kid stuff. It’s great!

[Photo via purl3agony.]

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The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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