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How to Make a Dyed Rope Basket for Your Easter Decor

by 12 Comments

This dyed rope basket is a great beginner sewing project. One that you can easily create in an afternoon, and is perfect for your Easter decor.

Dyed Rope Basket for Easter

Dyed rope basket for Easter next to eggs.If you have a sewing machine, or access to one, then you can make this beautiful dyed rope basket. I made this one with Easter in mind, but you can dye it any color you wish.

Bunch of clothesline rope.

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It all starts with simple cotton clothesline rope. The basket above was dyed with three different colors. To recreate this look, separate some of the beginning of the rope for the first color. This will be the bottom of the basket.

Clothesline rope dying in three bowls.

Prepare three bowls using grocery store food coloring and white vinegar. Just like dying Easter eggs. Combine 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1 cup of boiling water and about 40 drops of dye.

Tip: cut a few small pieces of rope to test out your colors first.

Dying clothesline rope.

Remove the rope and allow it to dry.

Pinned beginning of rope coil.

Begin creating the basket by making a coil at one end of the rope. Use a large pin to hold it in place.

Stitched beginning of basket coil.

Use a zigzag stitch to hold the coil together. 

Tip: Use a piece of scrap fabric to get the width and length of the zigzag stitch you need. It needs to be wide enough to cover some of the two pieces of rope, and you don’t want it too long. If you make the stitches very close together, it will take a long time to sew and it’s not necessary. 

Keep your coil flat, and sew as much as you want, to create the bottom of the basket.

Dyed rope basket middle stage.

For the sides just turn the coil 90 degrees and continue sewing, just as you did before.

Tip: This one uses white thread, but you could use different colored threads to give the basket an even more colorful look.

Inside of dyed rope basket completed.

When you get to the height you want, stop to make handles. Do this by simply leaving sections of rope untouched for a couple of inches, and then start sewing again at the end of the handle, making sure to back-stitch or double stitch to secure the ends. Finish the basket at the end of the second handle.

Dyed rope basket with colored eggs.

This dyed rope basket measures approximately 5 inches tall by 7 inches wide.  I only used a little more than half of the skein of rope. To use more of the rope I would have needed to make a larger bottom, which would have made the entire basket larger. I could have made it slightly taller, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Maybe I’ll make another one to give as a gift.

I could see a pretty Easter lily in this basket. Wouldn’t that be a special Easter gift?

 

 

 

About Patti Estep

Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

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Comments

  1. sue says

    love, love, love this basket – definitely going to give it a try for my grand-daughter

    many thanks Patti and Happy Easter to you and yours 🙂

    Reply

  2. Nikki Gwin says

    I love it! I’ve been looking to buy some similar but larger baskets and they are not cheap! Do you think it would need some kind of support if it was made bigger? I want big enough to sit on the floor and hold pillows are something. Pinned and shared!
    🙂 gwingal

    Reply

    • Patti Estep says

      You’ll need to make the base larger to increase the size. I’m not sure but I would imagine that the pillows would act as a stuffing for a bag like this one. The rope is pretty inexpensive, so if you have the time you should try it.

      Reply

    • Patti Estep says

      I could not believe how easy it was to make Pamela. You can change it up with colored thread too. And I noticed someone even wrapped the rope with pieces of fabric to give the basket even more color.

      Reply

  5. Carole says

    So clever love that you died the rope first. These would be so cute on a spring table as a centerpiece in different sizes. How long did it take you to make that?

    Reply

    • Patti Estep says

      So glad you liked this Carole. The dying part was just like dyeing eggs. Boiling water and then letting the rope sit in the dye for a few minutes. Then you need to wait for the rope to dry. The sewing only took a hour or so. I’m not the fastest sewer, so I would sew a little and then take a break and do something else.

      Reply

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