By Show Me Step by StepPublished
Based on a video by Sigoni Macaroni.
A chunky crochet basket is one of the best first projects you can make. It is all single crochet, it works up in under an hour with super bulky yarn, and you end up with something useful. This one comes from Sigoni of Sigoni Macaroni, who made it for her 12 Days of Crochet Christmas series as a last minute gift.
The finished basket is about 5 3/4 inches across the base and roughly 4 inches tall.
One skein of super bulky (weight 6) yarn, an 8 mm crochet hook, scissors and a large eye tapestry needle. Sigoni uses Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick. Bernat Blanket also works and gives a softer, plush basket.
The pattern has three parts. A flat circle makes the base, growing by six stitches each round until you reach 36. One round worked in the back loops only creates a clean fold, so the sides stand up. Then plain rounds of single crochet build the walls, and a crab stitch edge finishes the rim. Every round is joined with a slip stitch and starts with a chain of one.
For a wider basket, keep increasing past round 6. Each new round adds one more plain stitch between increases, so round 7 would be *2 sc, 1 sc in next 5* for 42 stitches. Then do your back loop round. For a taller basket, add more rounds to the walls. Thinner yarn held double works too; two strands of worsted with a 6 mm hook gives a similar chunky look.
Fill it with wrapped candies, a candle and a mug for a quick holiday gift. Use it on a dresser for jewellery and keys, in the bathroom for cotton balls, or next to your chair for yarn scraps. A small set of three in different colours looks good on a shelf.
Wool-Ease Thick and Quick is an acrylic and wool blend, so check the label before you wash. Most baskets only need a shake or a gentle hand wash. Lay it flat to dry with a bowl or a rolled towel inside so the walls dry upright. If the sides slump over time, a light mist of spray starch from the inside firms them back up.
Base curling up like a bowl? You may have skipped an increase; count each round. Base rippling like a frill? You added too many. Sides leaning outward? Your back loop round was too loose, or your tension changed when you started the walls. Crab stitch feels awkward? It takes a few tries. If it will not behave, slip stitch around the rim instead for a tidy finish.
New to the stitches? See how to make a magic ring, work a single crochet, increase and slip stitch, then weave in your ends so the basket lasts.
10 steps · about 9 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Wrap the yarn around your fingers to form a magic circle. Insert your 8 mm hook into the ring, yarn over, pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through both loops. That is one single crochet. Work six of them into the ring. With super bulky yarn the stitches are big and easy to see, which makes this a friendly first circle.
Tip
Can't get the magic circle to work? Chain 2 and work six single crochet into the second chain from the hook.
Hold the stitches and pull the yarn tail firmly to close the hole in the middle. Slip stitch into the first single crochet to join. That is round 1, with six stitches. Pull the tail tight now; a gap left here shows as a hole in the bottom of your basket and is hard to fix later.
Tip
Leave a tail of a few inches so you can weave it in at the end.
Chain one, then work two single crochet into every stitch around. You end with 12 stitches. Slip stitch into the first single crochet to join. The slip stitch from the round before sits on top like an extra stitch. Skip it. It is a false stitch, and working into it throws off your count.
Tip
Drop a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round if you lose track.
Chain one. Work two single crochet into the first stitch, then one single crochet into the next. Repeat that pattern all the way around. At the end of round 3 you should have 18 stitches. Slip stitch to join. The circle should lie flat on the table. If the edge cups up, check that you did not miss an increase.
Tip
Count stitches at the end of every base round. It saves ripping out later.
Each round adds one more plain stitch between increases. Round 4 is two in one stitch, then one in each of the next two, for 24. Round 5 is two in one, then one in each of the next three, for 30. Round 6 is two in one, then one in each of the next four, for 36. Join each round with a slip stitch.
Tip
Bulky yarn hides the small corners that form where the increases stack up.
Lay the base flat and measure across the middle. Sigoni's measures about 5 3/4 inches. A little bigger or smaller is fine; it only changes the size of the basket. This is your last chance to make the base wider. Add another increase round now if you want a bigger basket for yarn or toys.
Tip
Measure before the sides go up. Once the walls start, the base is set.
For round 7, chain one and single crochet into the back loop only of each stitch around. Each stitch looks like a V. The strand closest to you is the front loop; go between the stitches and catch only the back one. You still have 36 stitches. The skipped front loops make a neat ridge, and the edge starts folding upward.
Tip
Your first stitch goes right at the base of the chain one.
Now build the sides. For rounds 8 through 13, chain one and single crochet under both loops of every stitch, 36 per round. Join each round with a slip stitch. Because you are not increasing, the walls rise straight up. After six rounds the basket stands on its own and holds its shape well with bulky yarn.
Tip
Keep your tension even. Tight and loose rounds show as wavy walls.
Chain one to start round 14. Turn your hook backwards and insert it into the stitch behind you, to the right. Grab the yarn and pull it through, so two loops sit on the hook. Yarn over and pull through both. That is one crab stitch, also called reverse single crochet. Keep working backwards around the rim for a twisted rope edge.
Tip
If crab stitch fights you, slip stitch in each stitch around for a simpler finish.
When you reach the start of the round, cut the yarn and leave a couple of inches. Yarn over and pull the strand all the way through the loop to tie off. Thread the tail onto a large eye tapestry needle and weave it through the stitches to join the edge neatly. Weave in the tail from the magic circle too, and trim.
Tip
Weave each tail in at least two directions so it never works loose.
Keep going
How to Make a Fall Leaf Garland
How to Crochet a Basket
Clover
Clover Amour Crochet Hook Set (10 sizes)
Soft, easy-grip handles that warm to the touch and a full size range in one case. The set most crocheters upgrade to and never look back.
Lion Brand
Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton Yarn
Mercerized cotton with crisp stitch definition and a subtle sheen. Machine washable, and the go-to for amigurumi, bags, and dishcloths.
Clover
Clover Locking Stitch Markers (20-pack)
Lock onto stitches so they never slip while you mark rounds, increases, and repeats. A dollar-store fix that actually holds.
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