If you’re like me, then you live in a world where there are never enough baskets. It doesn’t matter how many you buy or how much you order. I find myself searching daily for an empty container (flashback to that poem… iykyk) for toys, craft pieces, new projects, kitchen collections, bath products, makeup, and so on. Being able to make your own from cardboard that you would normally have to recycle has changed my life!
Once I made this basket, I remember that in 2016 I had made something very similar with paper. This is definitely an improvement, but I still think they’re really cute!
This is a great way to reuse what you already have on hand, but these are some of the tools I used to make my basket:
Cutting mat, quilter’s ruler and rotary cutter.
double sided tape
Glue gun and glue sticks
So let’s turn a cardboard box into a useful storage basket! I’ll show you how below:
Woven Cardboard Box Basket Tutorial:
Step 1:
Remove the tape or staples from the cardboard box and then cut it into 10 1” wide x 18” long strips. These will form the base of your box.
Step 2:
Cut 10 pieces of fabric measuring 2.4” x 19”. This creates strips long and wide enough to cover both sides of the cardboard. Using glue or double-sided tape (the latter is less messy), adhere the fabric to the cardboard strip. Do this by placing the strip in the middle of the fabric and folding both sides.
Trim the ends of the fabric flush with the cardboard and add a little PVA or glue stick to secure the fabric in place and prevent it from fraying.
Step 3:
Take 5 of the fabric covered strips and tape them to a table to secure them in place. Weave the other five strips into these alternating pattern to create a woven base. Make sure they are placed evenly and the same distance is left on each side.
To make the sides of the basket you need to cut three more strips of cardboard. This time 1” x 26” to create a single strip that will wrap around all four sides. Cut and cover with fabric as before.
Begin weaving the longer strip along one side of the basket base, making sure the end is hidden behind (inside the basket) one of the base strips. When you reach the edge of the woven base, fold the cardboard 90 degrees and continue weaving on the second side. This should cause the base strips to also bend 90 degrees creating the bases for the sides.
Be sure to maintain the pattern as you turn the corners and use clips to hold the pieces in place as you go. Continue around all four sides of the basket until you reach the end of the strip.
Step 4:
Weave the next two strips into the basket in the same way; make sure to go under where you went in the last row to maintain the pattern.
Once you’ve woven all three strips into the basket, fold the excess toward the inside of the basket and hot glue it in place.
