Crochet Bamboo Basket

The crochet bamboo basket was inspired by the iconic woven purses of the 60’s. It’s the perfect addition to any room.

The Design

I have always loved retro and vintage items so when I was scrolling through pinterest (I can’t be the only one who gets lost in the possibilities pinterest represents!) and I came across this pin it was love at first sight! Of course vintage items are not always readily available, true vintage can be pricey, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream and be inspired by it.

Needless to say, I still feel very inspired by the bamboo purse pin, not just the actual bag but the photo setup as well. So, I hunted for a crochet stitch that would produce a fabric similar to the bamboo purse. Sometimes a product really catches your fancy and you just can’t rest until you explore all the possibilities. Let me tell you, vintage has a lot of possibilities.

I wanted several small baskets to store little things around the house that never seem to have a place, chargers, remotes, etc. The prototype basket was a bit of a flop, I used thermal stitch for the bottom and the broken rib stitch for the actual basket. It quite literally flopped, the thermal stitch was much too sturdy for the stitch.

I finally settled on a small round basket, with a waistcoat stitch for the bottom. Sturdy and not holey.

The Yarn

I like baskets that can stand up for themselves without too much persuasion or outside aid. This is usually means that you use a crochet hook that is smaller than recommended. I didn’t really want to use a 3.5mm hook, trying to give my hands a break, so I chose a bulky yarn. Bernat Chunky Yarn with a 6.5mm crochet hook produces a very sturdy fabric that is not murder to create.. It also doesn’t hurt that the yarn comes in many different colors.

I chose the emerald color because it compliments my living room quite well. It’s a bright spot of blue.

Materials:

1 ball of Bernat Softee Chunky Yarn (100% acrylic / 77 yds ) in the color of your choice

6.5mm hookk

darning needle

Scissors

Size: Small basket

4.5″ Diameter

5.5 ” Tall

Skill Level: Easy

Stitches: US terms

csc – center single crochet (Waistcoat stitch)

broken rib stitch – to make this stitch we will always work our fptr on the right side, 1 row below the working row.

ch – chain

sl st – slip stitch

sc – single crochet

dc – double crochet

fptr – front post treble

inc – increase

Notes:

Use a hook two sizes smaller than the yarn recommends. We are looking to stitch tightly so that the basket is sturdy.

Ch3 counts as a dc.

Work the broken rib stitch in multiples of 2+1

If you would like to make your crochet bamboo basket larger, simply add more increases to the base of the basket.

Crochet Bamboo Basket Pattern

Base of the Basket

Make a magic loop and ch1 to close, make 8sc into the ring. Sl st. Ch1
2 csc inc in each stitch, sl st to the first csc. ch 1
*2csc inc, sc* repeat from *to* around. Sl st to the first csc. Ch1
*2csc inc, 2sc* repeat from *to* around. Sl st to the first csc. Ch1
*2csc inc, 3sc* repeat from * to * around. Sl st to the first csc. Ch1

Basket Body:

1sc in the back loop of each stitch. (40 stitches). sl st to the first sc. Ch3
1dc in the same ch3 space, 1dc in each stitch. sl st to the ch3 to join. Ch1 (41 stitches)
(Row 1 of the Broken rib stitch.) – 1sc in each stitch. sl st to join. Ch3.
(Row 2 of the broken rib stitch). – *fptr in next 2 dc (we are skipping working into the sc row) dc in the next sc (we work the dc in the sc row)* Repeat from *to* end this round with a fptr in the last stitch. sl st to the top of the ch3. Ch1
(Row 3 of the Broken rib stitch) – repeat #3
*dc in sc, fptr around next 2 stitches from round #4* repeat from *to* ending round with a dc.