I am a storage enthusiast. A true advocate for ” A place for everything and everything in its place”. Maybe it comes from years on tour in cramped spaces, or living in open plan homes, or maybe I am just a little bit of a neat freak. Either way, storage and I are pals, and I am always on the look out for another kid to join the club.

Inspired by the talented and matching first name babe that is Gemma Patford I set out to make the perfect knitting basket!

You will need :

10m of rope ( my basket had a 190mm diameter )

2 tablespoons of acrylic paint ( I chose Mackenzie from Resene )

2 cups of water

A bucket

A masher, or some sort utensil to push the rope down with

Sewing machine and thread ( I chose to keep mine the same colour as the rope, but you can choose whatever you like! )

First, in your bucket mix the paint, two tablespoons of paint to 2 cups of water was the ratio I used, this way it absorbed but still had a dense colour. Next, loop your rope and dip into the bucket. Using your masher or other utensil,push down the rope so it is coated well. If you want crisp lines between the rope and paint you can always tape it.

Squeeze out the excess water and paint mixture and hang it up on the line to dry, Make sure they are spaced out and don’t sit against each other. Once dry, your rope is ready to sew!

Set your machine to zig zag stitch. Starting with a small coil  begin to sew, I found at this stage it is easiest to use the hand control on the sewing machine as it difficult to push it through a turn. continue sewing until you have the desired  diameter of your vessles base, I made mine 150mm.

Next, Turn the base on a right angle ( the more angle you use, the more abrupt the sides will be ) continue to sew. Once you are a few centimeters from the end, loop the rope back under itself and sew to finish. Voile! You’re finished! Now fill with any of those bits and bobs then sit back and admire.

Until next time,