How to Make a Woven Paper Easter Basket

Cut both colours of construction paper the long way into 1 inch strips. Lay four strips of one colour side by side on the table, close together but not overlapping. Take a strip of the second colour and weave it across them near the middle: over the first strip, under the second, over the third and under the fourth. Pull it through so the ends stick out evenly on both sides.

Take another strip of the second colour and lay it beside the first one. This time do the opposite: under the first strip, over the second, under the third and over the fourth. Slide it up until it sits snug against the first woven strip. Straighten the flat strips between rows so the squares line up. You can already see the checkerboard start.

Weave the third strip like the first one, starting over. Weave the fourth like the second, starting under. Now you have four strips going one way and four going the other, with a neat checkerboard square in the middle. Push all the strips tight together and center the square, so the loose ends on each side are about the same length. Those ends become the walls.

Fold each loose strip end straight up along the edge of the woven square. Work all the way around the base, one side at a time, and press a firm crease into every fold. The square becomes the bottom of the basket and the folded ends stand up as the uprights for the walls. They will flop a little for now. The woven rows hold them in place.

Pick a strip in the colour opposite to the uprights on the side you are working on. Weave it through the uprights low against the base: under the first, over the second, under the third and over the fourth. Leave a short tail at the start and fold it up. That tail joins the next wall. Glue every spot where the strip crosses an upright so the wall is firm.

When the strip reaches the end of the wall, make a small fold at the corner so it can join the next side. Cut off the extra length with scissors. Keep that offcut. It is long enough to use on another wall later. Now the bottom row of the first wall is done and the basket starts to take shape.

Move to the next side and use the other colour of paper. Look at the wall you finished and note which colour it ended on at the corner. Start the new wall with the opposite colour so the checkerboard carries around the corner. Tuck the strip under where it needs to go, glue it along the tab you left earlier, and carry on with the over-under pattern. Trim the extra at the end, then repeat on the last two walls.

With the bottom row done all the way around, weave a second row on top of it. This time go the opposite way from the row below. Where the bottom row shows a light square, the top row should show a dark one. Glue the strip at each corner as before and trim the ends. Keep going until the whole top row is woven on all four walls.

Take your scissors and snip off the ends of the uprights that stick up past the top row. Go all the way around the basket until the rim is a neat straight line. Cut slowly, a little at a time. If an end works loose after trimming, a touch of glue stick under it holds it flat against the top strip.

Take a leftover strip for the handle and arch it over the basket from one side to the other. Push a brad through one end of the handle, leaving a little paper past the hole so it does not tear. Press the brad through the basket wall without splitting the weave. Open the brad legs flat on the inside to hold the handle. Repeat on the other side and your basket is ready to fill.