Rope Basket

By: Emma Dunkel

Delaware County

Emma Dunkel Grade: 12 Aces Years in project: 7 Rope Basket 10350

What were your goal(s) for this project? ● Create an open-top rope basket by myself ● Add wrapped handles ● Attach a decoration

How did you go about working towards your goal(s)? In preparing to go to college next year I realize that storage in dorm rooms is hard to come by. When looking at lists of “Stuff to Bring to College” a basket was on almost everyone. While I could easily buy a basket I wanted to learn how to make one instead. Using my resources I was able to find someone with the equipment and knowledge to allow me to create this project. I started with getting my supplies, 100 yards of ¼ inch cotton rope, a heavy-duty needle, thread, glue, and charms. I borrowed my neighbor’s sewing machine and got to work. It is important to note that not any sewing machine will work for this project but instead an upholstery machine is needed. I unrolled the rope making sure to always keep it untangled while working with it. I learned the 3 stitches I would need to use on a spare piece of rope. The three stitches I used were a satin stitch, straight stitch, and a zig-zag stitch. To start the basket I satin stitched the end for about a quarter inch and then coiled up the rope until it was about 2 inches across. Once the rope was coiled I used a straight stitch to create a cross on the rope coil to hold it in place while I sewed the basket. I then started in the middle and using a zig-zag stitch went all the way around the basket putting the “ditch” of two ropes in the middle of the pressure foot to sew them together. Starting out with the zig-zag stitch I used a lot of stitches per inch but lessened it as I went. I had to make sure to keep the bottom of the basket completely flat while sewing the rope or else the rope would bend and the basket won't sit correctly. I would measure frequently while sewing the bottom until I got seven and a half inches across, at this point, I could start creating the sides. The biggest thing to check before creating the sides is to make sure I didn’t miss any spots, holding the bottom up to the light and slightly tugging at it helps to see any holes that may have been missed. If there is a spot that is missed simply start an inch before the missed area and sew it an inch past using the same zig-zag stitch as before. When creating the sides I simply tilted the bottom up towards the sewing machine and gently curved each side all while using the same zig-zag stitch technique as before. Once the sides were about two inches up, I relaxed my hold on the bottom of the basket, holding the basket so the sides were parallel to the ground ensuring that the sides would stand up straight. If I were to continue with the sharp angle I would have ended up making a closed top basket instead of the open-topped basket that I wanted. I chose an open-top basket simply because it fit a more diverse variety of things into the basket. I continued to sew the sides up until I had about fifteen feet of rope left. At this point, I started to make my handles. Adding handles of any type to a basket is hard but wrapped handles are one of the hardest techniques. I first had to measure out each of my handles. While measuring the same

length of rope may seem easy, it is quite difficult. First I had to decide on the length of the handle I would like, making sure that there would be a comfortable amount of room left over once I wrapped the handles. I then pinned one handle to where I liked it and used this handle as a guide for my second handle. First I measured the distance from where the handle started to where it ended on the basket and found the middle, then I placed a pin there. Second I measured around the whole basket and divided it in half, then measured from the pin I had just placed to exactly halfway around the basket, This spot would become the middle of my second handle, I placed a pin here for the meantime as well. The third step I took was to measure the amount of rope I used to create the first handle. It is extremely important to use the exact same amount of rope, so when wrapping the handles I would be able to get the same amount of loops. When measuring the second handle I learned that I needed to be careful about pinning down the extra rope before measuring or else I would have to measure again. Once I had both handles in place I redid all of the measurements from before and also measured from the top of the handle straight down to the basket. Once the handles were pinned correctly it was time to start sewing. I satin stitched the beginning and end of each handle and zig-zag stitched the rope in between the two handles. Next, it was time to start wrapping, first I added a satin stitch right before the handle to make sure the handle and its wrapping would hold, I then gathered up all of the rope and wrapped it through twenty times making sure to keep the rope wrapped tight. I then placed a satin stitch at the end of the handle and used the zig-zag stitch until I got to the second handle. At the second handle, I again performed a satin stitch and wrapped the handle in the same fashion as the other handle, making sure to wrap the rope around exactly twenty times. Once I finished the satin stitch at the end it was time to finish the basket with a decoration. Since I love everything to be pretty I knew that I wanted my basket to be original. A pretty decoration for any rope basket is to add a rope coil by the handle of the basket, you may also attach charms to the rope coil. To make the rope coil I used the same technique as when I started the basket. I first measured how big of a coil I wanted and placed a quarter inch satin stitch at the end, I then cut off any extra rope leftover. I wound up the rope as tight as possible and added a cross with a straight stitch to hold the coil together, Next I used the zig-zag stitch to sew the coil together. Unlike the beginning of the basket, this rope coil is attached to a basket meaning that the sewing is harder to complete. Unfortunately, the sewing machine can only sew so far, and once I couldn’t sew any further with the machine I placed a satin stitch down. My next step was to add charms. I chose two bronze leaves and a bronze heart that reads “made with love” for my charms. The colors I chose from were gold, silver, and bronze, the reason I chose the bronze was because of how it popped against the cream color of the basket. To add the charms I had to sew them on by hand. I carefully placed each charm and sewed in on making sure to not completely tighten the thread while doing so. If I were to pull the thread too tight the charms would not be allowed to dangle and instead would sit in a rigid position. After the charms were on tight I had to attach the coil to the side of the basket. To hold the coil in place I applied fabric-tack glue to the backside of the coil and pressed it onto the basket for a minute. After the rope coil was attached with glue I then sewed it on as

well. After adding glue the needle wouldn’t go through easily so I recruited the help of a set of pliers to force the needle through. I placed the stitches almost behind the coil so you can not see them in the finished project. To finish the basket I took the remaining thread and sewed it through the middle of the rope so the end could not come undone.

What were the most important things you learned as you worked towards your goal(s)? I have never made a basket before nor worked with rope to create a project so this whole process for me was a learning curve. Not only did I learn how to work with rope but I also learned many techniques and different tricks that basket makers use. Starting I learned about the supplies I would need. Since the cotton rope is such a thick material a heavy-duty needle is a must. I learned that you should look for a needle that says it can be used on jeans. I also learned that not any type of sewing machine will work. Since the rope is thick, a heavy-duty, usually more expensive, sewing machine works better. Luckily for me, my neighbor has a fantastic sewing machine that she let me borrow. I also got a thread that matched the color of my rope, this allows for the thread not to be seen and allows for mistakes to easily be covered up. Besides getting charms that I liked the last thing I needed was glue, my neighbor lent me fabric-tack glue which is one of the best glues to use for making baskets. When creating the basket I learned many different things such as a good tip for overall: if the sewing machine doesn’t like you, check the thread. Many times it easy to thread the needle wrong or for the bobbin to have run out of thread, both of these are important to stay on top of, or else the sewing won’t come out correct. For a basket, it is important to keep the rope taught, if the rope isn’t tight enough then you can create a hole when sewing the basket. For the bottom of the basket, I learned that you must keep it flat, if I were to accidentally cure the bottom while sewing then the basket would end up not sitting flat as it should. Counicently when making the sides I learned the importance of keeping the angle. Once I started making the sides I simply tilted the basket up till it touched the side of the sewing machine, If at any point I were to change this angle while sewing the basket it would result in a lopsided basket instead of one that is perfectly round. After the sides are started, about one to two inches up, I learned that I have to change the angle. Since I wanted to create an open-top basket I had to be careful to make the sides straight, this meant constantly adjusting the pressure of my hand on the bottom of the basket. While the body of the basket is rather easy to make, the handles are more challenging. To start the handles I learned the four different ways to measure the handles: measuring the distance from the start of handle one to the end of handle one along the top of the basket, measuring the distance around the whole basket, measuring how much rope is in one handle and measuring how far up the handles are from the basket. I learned how to use all these measurements to create two identical handles. I also learned that pins become a big help but to be careful not to sew the pins into the basket. When wrapping the handle not only did I learn that wrapping was a lot of work but that it took a lot of rope and I had to be careful to keep the rope tight at all times. I learned to wrap each handle the same amount of time or else the basket will look lopsided. When finishing the wrapping of the handles I added a satin stitch to hold it all together but I learned that the

handles are too wide so I had to make the satin stitch out farther than the rest of the satin stitches by the handles. When creating the rope coil for the end it was very much like the beginning of the basket however, I learned that it is much harder because the coil is attached to a big basket so it is harder to get the coil in the sewing machine. Since the basket is attached I couldn't sew the whole rope coil like before and was forced to put a satin stitch in. Attaching the charms was hard because you had to guess where the needle would come through since the rope was too thick to feel through. After adding glue to the rope coil I learned that I had to use pliers to help the needle go through since it was too thick. Overall I learned many new and different ideas that I can not only use in basket making but also use in art in general.

Costs 100 yards ¼ inch cotton rope ------$10.00 One spool of thread ------$3.50 Charms ------$0.20 each $.60 total Fabric Teck glue ------$11.77 for 4 oz

TOTAL------$14.10

Elements and Principals of Design Line- The rope itself automatically creates a line within the project. While there is a lack of ​ straight-line many curved and swirled lines are present. Form- While the bottom of the basket is flat the sides are curved like a sphere making the ​ basket into a bowl shape. Color- For my basket I wanted a neutral color so that it would go with any room, the cream color ​ of the rope worked well, I chose bronze charms because they popped against the cream color of the basket. Texture- While the texture of the rope is rough once the rope is sewed into a basket from the ​ overall texture smoothes out. Pattern- If you look closely the stitches that hold the basket together make a cool zig-zag ​ pattern. Proportion/scale- When managing the proportions of the basket I was careful to fit the handles ​ and decoration to the size of the basket. I wanted to keep the decoration small to not take away from the basket. Rhythm/movement- The basket moves in a spiral motion starting from the center and flowing up, ​ ending in yet another spiral as the decoration.

I started with 100 feet of ¼ inch cotton rope.

I then unrolled all 100 feet of the rope, laying the rope throughout the house as I went to keep it untangled.

Before starting to sew I changed the needle to a heavy duty needle since the rope is so thick.

I started with a satin stitch at the beginning of the rope.

Once the satin stitch was down I started coiling up the rope into a tight circle.

To keep the rope coil tight while I worked I sewed a cross onto the rope coil.

After the coil is set into place I switched to a zig-zag stitch. I place the “ditch” or the area between the two ropes in the middle of the pressure foot. The hardest part is turning the rope as you go.

Once I got out farther I then switched the length to fewer stitches per inch as to not waste as much thread. I measured the bottom consistently until I reached seven and a half inches.

Once the bottom was finished I went over any areas I missed and then continued sewing but tilted the basket up to create the sides.

I continued tilting the bowl up as far as I could until the sides started to become straight. My goal was to create an open-top basket so as soon as the sides became straight I then gently held the basket up so the top wouldn't close in farther.

Once the sides were built up it was time to start the handles. I carefully measured each handle so they were the same time. The handles must be the exact same length because I want the exact same number of loops around the handles later. Once the handles were pinned I sewed a satin stitch to hold the handles in place and then would continue to use the zig-zag stitch to sew the remaining rope to the basket before I got to the next handle.

After I sewed the last satin stitch on the last handle I left a chunk of rope out. I then sewed a satin stitch where I wanted the end to be. I curled the rope up and sewed it the same way I started sewing the basket, putting a satin stitch at the farthest place from where the sewing machine would sew. Next, I picked out charms. I chose two bronze leaves and a bronze heart that says “Made with Love.” I chose the color bronze over gold and silver because it popped on the cream-colored rope.

When I was sewing the charms on I had to be careful not to pull the thread too tight so the charms will dangle slightly. It was hard to sew because the rope is so thick you have to guess on where your needle will come through.

Once the charms were sewed on I then used fabric-tack glue to glue the rope coil onto the basket. I held the coil for a minute before I used a hidden stitch to sew the coil on.

After the rope coil with the charms was sewn on, the basket was finished.