Coiled Fabric Basket

During guild Show and Share last week I saw a purse made from fabric strips and cotton cord, coiled and zig-zagged. Wow, gotta try that!

Rosy said she had cotton clothesline that she'd be willing to share. She had wanted to make one, but the idea sat too long and it went into hibernation. I know how that happens, something new and exciting comes along to push it off the list.

I tried a 'Mug rug' first, even though the tutorial I watched said the oblong was easier than the circle. Nothing like jumping in with both feet...

The first one was a little stiff. The next day I was digging in my (ancient) collection of notions for a draw string for something else and found this soft cord for upholstery. Ha! It's from Sears and cost 50 cents. You know it's old! That helped the second mug rug to be softer.

On to a basket. I thought the mug rugs were a little too plain so I chose contrasting colors to show the layers more. These were my original choices.

Using a glue stick to secure the end of one strip and the beginning of the next worked wonderfully. Things went faster after that. I decided to make the last few rows in a dark green to give it a finished look.
 

Watching how the large scale prints create a pattern is fun.

Love it! There's a great YouTube tutorial here. I used clear mono-filament in the top, which becomes the inside and variegated thread in the bobbin, for the outside.