Let’s upcycle & make a rag rug inspired square shaped storage basket by using scrap yarn and t-shirt yarn made from your old t-shirts!
Since I moved into my current apartment 2,5 years ago I did set myself a challenge to try to make as many things I needed from things that I already owned.
One thing I needed recently was a storage basket for my favourite sweaters. I already had t-shirt yarn which I had made from mine and my husband’s old clothing last year (find my tutorial on how to make your own t-shirt yarn here) and my stash was full of leftover yarn which I didn’t know what to do with.
As part of this challenge, I had already created a rag rug for our living room with my husband’s old t-shirt and leftover yarn when we moved into this place. I personally loved how it turned out and it had gotten so much praise from visitors so I thought… maybe I can create a rag rug basket using the same technique?
If you want to create your own rag rug basket continue reading… or if you prefer you can watch the video below to follow my video tutorial on how you can make your own upcycled storage basket!
To make your rag rug basket you will need:
– T-shirt yarn
– Scrap/leftover yarn
– Crochet hook
You will also need to master some basic crochet skills like slip knot, slip stitch, chain stitch (ch) and single crochet (sc).
Step-by-step how to make a rag rug basket
Start by making a loop, then create a slipknot by pulling another loop through it.
Make 1 chain stitch and then take a piece of t-shirt yarn and pull the yarn around the t-shirt yarn. Then make one single crochet by pulling the yarn over the hook and then through the two loops.
Repeat pulling the yarn around the t-shirt yarn and then pull the yarn over the hook and through the two loops until you have created how wide you want your basket to be.
For my basket, I made 43 sc until I had created my desired width of 40 cm. How many sc you need will depend totally on how thick you did cut your t-shirt yarn, how chunky your scrap yarn is, your tension and how wide you want to create your basket.
Once you completed your first row – turn the work. If you have any t-shirt yarn left – fold it towards your work.
Make 2 ch, then continue by pulling the yarn through the previous round’s sc and around the t-shirt yarn followed by pulling the yarn through the two loops to create another sc.
When your t-shirt yarn ends – cut a little hole in the middle of the yarn and pull through the new piece of t-shirt yarn. Then continue to crochet around the yarn.
As you work on your basket make sure to have fun by mixing and matching colours of scrap yarn and t-shirt yarn. If you have similar and/or less fun colours of yarn you can change up the look by using different colours of scrap yarn on the same colour of t-shirt yarn.
As you work on the basket make sure to smooth out any bulky areas as you go, as well as pulling through and hide any ends of yarn.
Measure the basket bottom as you go to ensure you create the size you want. I wanted my basket bottom to be 40 x 30 cm – but you can create any size you want.
Once you are happy with the size it’s time to create the sides! Start by creating a slipknot around your hook. I used the end of the last bit of t-shirt yarn to connect with my new piece of yarn.
The pull the yarn through the sc on the edge and around the t-shirt yarn to create the first row of the basket sides.
Make sure you do not make any additional stitches so that your basket sides do not stand up and do not do the same mistake as I did at the corners!
Normally when you crochet the corners at a square basket you add 3 stitches in 1 st to create a corner, however, at this basket when you crochet around the t-shirt yarn it increases the basket sides too much.
As such, I did on the second and third-row decrease the stitches at the corner (who has time to re-do the previous round?) by decreasing 3 sc into 1.
I think the final result looks all right but I think it will look even better if you do decrease the 3 sc at the corner into 1 sc from the first row, and then just crochet around as usual for the remainder of the basket.
I hope this makes sense! If you have any questions or need any clarification, please leave a comment below and let me know!
I hope to make another basket soon and will hopefully be able to supply you with more pictures and instructions then so that you can make yourself an, even more, better-looking basket.
Now, when you are working on the sides of your basket, make sure to put a stitch marker at the beginning of the rows to keep track of where it is. If you lose track of where your row started you might end up with an uneven height of your basket.
I was happy with the height of my basket once I reached 15 cm but you can make the sides as high or low as you like.
Once you are happy with the height of your basket – cut off any excess t-shirt yarn and slip stitch instead of single crochet around the end (of the t-shirt yarn) to tuck it in place. Fasten and tuck in ends of yarn as securely and hidden as you can. Go over your basket to make sure that all yarn ends are tucked away.
And the basket is now complete!
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