The knitted basket. Cute? Stylish? Quirky? My husband isn't a fan, but then he does not know the soothing wave of calm that comes over those who need to organize, when they put stuff in stuff. I love putting stuff in other stuff. Baskets, pails, fabric containers, drawers and boxes - everything has somewhere to go. Right? So the knitted basket is truly functional, not just adorable.
An easy project worked entirely in seed stitch, this is a great project for the beginner knitter who's working on her bag of stitches and sick of the faithful scarf. This time you'll be making a large block, a swatch really, and simply seaming up a side and pulling the bottom together in a drawstring closure. Let's give it go.
I used a chunky yarn, Lion Brand Thick and Quick and I used two strands for added thickness and stand up ability. Pair this with size 15 (10mm) needles and you're stoked. Cast on 41 stitches and work in seed stitch. Using two skeins of yarn, I just knit my little heart out until the yarn was done. Bind off.
Fold your knitting in half from side to side. Your cast on row will be the bottom of your basket and your bind off row will be the top.
Now you're going to seam up that side with a mattress stitch.
Now thread a strand of yarn through each stitch of your bottom row, leaving enough tail to use both ends as a drawstring when they meet up. Pull your strands until the bottom closes up. You can also thread and tie a few strands across the closure for added strength.
Finally, flip your knitting right side out and fold over a few rows and there you go! Stuff your basket with whatever you want and call it a day.
