Paper Basket | Make newspaper baskets by weaving strips

Paper basket | Make newspaper baskets by weaving strips. Our guest blogger shares a tutorial to make paper basket using newspapers today. A great project to make usable paper baskets out of recyclable newspapers, magazines, or paper.

This project is great for a variety of activities:

• weekend project for adults to relax
• weaving skills practice for kids
• recycling newspaper
• organizing small supplies

Paper basket | Make newspaper baskets by weaving strips

Make newspaper basket

I would like to share how to make a paper basket out of old newspaper with you today.

Material needed to make paper basket

• Old newspaper (finally a purpose for free junk mail)
• Bobby pins, clothespins, paper clips or whatever you find to keep the paper together
Staples
• Strings or thread
• Scissors (even better if you have rotary cutter and cutting mat)

Instructions to make paper basket

• Use old newspaper.
• Cut into 20 strips. I cut them into 2-newspaper-column-wide strips (about 1 3/4″ or 7.5 cm). It depends on the size of the weave pattern. You can keep the length of the newspaper as it is and trim it later on.
• 20 newspaper strips.
• Fold each strip in half lengthwise and fold into quarter and then into eights. Make sure to crease tightly, so you have some sturdy and crisp strips.
• 20 folded newspaper strips waiting to be weaved.

• Start by weaving 10 strips in each direction.
• So that you will get a 10×10 square base.
• Thread around the edges ( or twine string, I only had packing string handy which was too stiff) to help mark the base and keep the base in shape a little better. Weave the thread just like the newspaper, one over and one under.
• Showing square weaved string base.
• Now off to the difficult part. You take one of the four sides of the pattern of 10 strips and divide them in half. Beginning with the center, cross them and weave out to the edge. Don’t worry if the weave pattern is not very tight yet. You can tighten it later on by gently pulling on the strips.
• Repeat with the other three sides. Join the four sides by weaving them together.

• Secure the weaved strips with pins.
• Fold the strips inwards and interweave them once.
• It will look a little messy but you will cut the access strips off later.
• Staple the inter-weaved strips at the top.
• Cut the access strips off.
• The finished look of the newspaper basket with staples.

Finished Paper Basket

Paper basket without staples

Paper basket with staples

I ended up not liking the staples in my basket and took them out again. The other way to finish of the edge is weaving the loose ends into the sides of the basket.

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