My goal has been to make more practical projects lately, especially for projects that are intended as gifts! My best friend will be moving to Saskatchewan for the next few months, and I thought that a nice storage basket would make a nice gift!

• 3 skeins of Lion Brand Yarn Wool-Ease Tonal – a bulky weight (5) yarn (colour A: Sand; colour B: Grey Marble)
• Size K (6.5 mm) hook

Pattern by Elizabeth at Crochet in Colour

MODIFICATIONS by tick-tock hobbies

Magic circles are my favourite technique, so I used them on this basket too! I just started with eight single crochet in the magic circle rather than doing the chain-2. I also wanted to make the basket bigger and taller, so I had 64 stitches per round, rather than 56. I also ended up tweaking the repeats a little bit and introduced a colour block as well. I used the following pattern for each colour section, with one row each of single crochet, half-double crochet, single crochet, single crochet in the back loops, and a row of half-double crochet.

Since the whole pattern is done while holding two strands, this ended up being a very “fat” yarn to work with! I actually found it a bit tiring to work this pattern, as it takes a bit of an effort to pull the two strands in and out. However, it does make the basket surprisingly strong and sturdy!

I originally wanted to make this as big as a laundry basket, but I soon realized that was a bit beyond the scope of my time frame as well as my yarn supply. I think it would make a lovely addition to an apartment or room, as it would provide a cute form of storage!

Until next time, happy crafting!