Crochet A Wool Basket and Then Felt It. A Cute Baby Gift!

Crocheted+felted basket

Here’s the other recent crochet project I promised to show you. Isn’t it cute? Wouldn’t you like to crochet a whole bunch of them in different sizes, some with handles too?

I would, and I hopefully will, just as soon as I get the chance! And you can be sure I’ll share the results with you. Im dreaming of some really giant ones crocheted from some heavy weight rug wool sitting in my attic, and I”ll use them to pick up all the things on the floor that shouldn’t be there. Or maybe I’ll put one on the stairs to hold all the stuff that needs to go up. And maybe a few more to hold all that stuff that just can’t find it’s place. Can’t wait!

There is something really great about felting, and I’m not the only one who thinks so, it just so happens to be all the rage in the crafting world at the moment, so jump on the band wagon! Most of the popular felting projects are done with wool roving (unspun) but felting an already crocheted or knitted piece is really satisfying too. Okay, I’m not that experienced, this is the first thing I’ve ever felted (on purpose) and I can’t wait to learn more.

Difficulty Level: very easy, great for a beginner, single crochet is through both loops except where noted

You’ll Need:

worsted weight 100% wool (or use acrylic if you just want to crochet a basket)
crochet hook size g or h
stitch marker (of just a small piece of contrasting yarn that you crochet into beginning of row and remove at end of the row)

Instructions:

This project is crocheted in a spiral formation. When you are crocheting the rows, you will need to keep track of when you have finished each row, so it is advisable to use a stitch marker.

The Base of the Basket:

Round 1: ch2, 6sc in 2nd chain from hook (ch=chain sc=single crochet)
Round 2: Crochet 2sc in each sc = 12 sc
Round 3: Crochet sc in next sc, crochet 2sc in next sc, repeat around= 18sc
Round 4: *sc in next 2 sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from *= 24 sc
Round 5: *sc in next 3 sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 30 sc
Round 6: *sc in next 4 sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 36 sc
Round 7: *sc in next 5 sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 42 sc
Round 8: *sc in next 6 sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 48 sc
Round 9: *sc in next 7 sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 54 sc
Round 10: *sc in next 8sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 60 sc
Round 11: *sc in next 9sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 66 sc
Round 12: *sc in next 10sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 72 sc
Round 13: *sc in next 11sc, 2sc in next sc, repeat from * = 78sc
Round 14: sc in BACK LOOP of each sc around = 78sc
To make a larger basket, follow the increase pattern for any additional rows

The Sides of The Basket

Round 15 +: sc in each sc around until reaching desired height.
I just kept crocheting until I was happy with the proportions, but if you’d like a basket with a more defined crisper fold, at the row in which you’d like to begin the fold, sc in FRONT LOOP of each stitch. Continue additional rows by sc in both loops.
For a contrasting edge, crochet the last three rows in a different color
You can make handles separately by crocheting 3 to 4 rows of sc in the desired length of your handle, and attach them with yarn and a needle after felting the basket and the handles

Felting How To:

I am no expert on this, but have read about it in a few places. I couldn’t find the directions when I needed them! So this is what I did:

I threw my crocheted basket into the laundry with a dark load at 30 celsius.
I checked the basket and decided it needed more felting, so then I threw it into a white load at 60 celsius
When I took it out it looked good, but the color was significantly different, now peach instead of bright orange! It’s a good thing my white laundry didn’t pick up the color! So maybe do this with stuff you don’t care about, like old towels etc.
I then put my basket in a hot dryer with the white load, and when it was done I was happy with the results. In felting the stitches should look like they’ve blended together and the piece should feel like it was made from a piece of boiled wool, since that is exactly what you’ve done!
In retrospect, I probably didn’t need to put the basket in that first cold load, but really didn’t know what I was doing, so that’s what I did! This felting process can be done in a bowl with boiling hot water, but throwing it in the machine sure saves a lot of extra work!