DIY Painted Rope Basket

If I haven’t cautioned you about the addictive nature of sewing rope baskets, consider this your official warning. Once you start, you just can’t stop. All it takes is a foot on the pedal, and a hand to guide the rope through the sewing machine, to have a simple, yet chic, bag take shape. It’s a very satisfying experience which is why I have umpteen rope bags and baskets piled up in a corner of my office. So one night, as I was about to sit down to a glass of wine and an evening of Netflix, I suddenly had the urge to paint. But paint what? Baskets! An entire season of Stranger Things later, I had a trio of painted baskets with brightly hued patterns. And as expected, I can’t stop . . .

You’ll need:

• rope basket (tutorial found here)

• assorted acrylic paint

• 1/4″ flat paint brush

Sew a rope basket using this tutorial and instead of stitching it with colored thread, use white or cream colored thread. When you’re ready to paint, squeeze large dollops of colored acrylic paint onto a disposable plate. Use a 1/4″ flat brush, to apply paint and create a pattern.

It helps to mix a bit of water into the paint to thin in out, making it easier to apply onto the textured rope. Paint horizontally, along the rope and then vertically to get in between the creases.

I like starting by creating a single motif and then repeating it on the left and right of the original motif.

Then go across the basket, centering the opposing motif and working left and right. Eventually your opposing patterns will meet, making the overall basket look symmetrical.

Don’t worry about it being too perfect or if you make a mistake. Nobody will really be able to tell. Trust me!

Use them to hold plants, skeins of yarn, throws, etc. If you decide to put plants in your rope baskets, make sure they drain of water completely before inserting the planter into the basket.

(images by HonestlyWTF)

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