Coiled Baskets from Cotton Clothesline : Demo by Lois

At the September meeting, Lois gave an excellent demostration on how to make coiled baskets from cotton clothesline wrapped with fabric strips.


This picture is looking down into a tote bag Lois made with a jelly roll set. Yummy!


Another basket on display. This one was made from a single fabric. The patterns made by wrapping the strips of fabric is mesmerizing!


More of the baskets on display.







Begin by cutting your fabric into 1/2-inch strips.
Alternatively, if you have jelly roll strips, cut them in half. These strips will be a little wider.

Cut the cord end at an angle, goob it with the glue stick.
Start wrapping the fabric strips around the cotton clothesline cord. Be aware of right and wrong sides to your fabric and what side you want to be showing. It's ok to overlap the wrappings, as you don't want any white clothesline to be showing.
Use a glue stick to secure it the fabric. Wrap as tightly as you can, and use the glue stick as needed to secure it. Keep whirling and twirling until you have a goodly amount to begin the coil.

Lois recommend using your sewing machine's presser foot to hold the end while you continue to wrap the cord. Secure it with a pin when you need to let go.


Start the coil. This may be the toughest part of the whole project.


When you have a few layers coiled, stitch an X across the bottom to secure it. This is a very important step. Don't skip it.


Continue coiling the wrapped cord, hold them tightly together and zig-zag the new round to the last round. Go SLOW.


To curve the bottom of the bowl, work from the inside and tip it slightly, as shown in the picture. It gets easier as you go along.


Wrap the cord, coil it, then stitch. Repeat until you're done.
This is Brenda getting a good start on her basket.

Other options for adding color :
Dye the clothesline (instead of wrapping it).

Resources :

Sue Breier's Books
It's a Wrap It's a Wrap II