For the last six months, I have taken a break from complex patterns and have found solace in the therapeutic effect of making baskets with all my scrap yarn (of which I have a staggering amount).  The one pictured above has found a purpose as a plant house.  A perfect marriage, really, because I have more baby plants than I have baskets, and I have 58 baskets so far!  I think I’ve nursed at least a hundred cuttings and seedlings this Summer, and my little ‘office’ is filled with plants. 

Well, the whole house, really.  Cuttings on every windowsill and on every available surface (including desks and dining room table).  I even have tomatoes growing indoors because I ran out of space outside.

So, lots of plants + lots of baskets = lots of happiness.

I’m also using my baskets to store my different WIPs in…

And one of them briefly served as a make-shift nest for a rescued bird.  Buddy found her on the ground and it took A LOT of coaxing and bribing to get him to leave her alone.  After a spot of Googling, we hung the little basket as close as we could to the original nest, hoping that the mom and dad would still tend to it.  Sadly, the little bird didn’t make it.

And here they are all together.  Well, the ones where I have already worked the ends away…

As I crocheted, Christiaan and I worked our way through all of Downton Abbey (again!!) and have now started Game of Thrones (again!!!).  Each basket contains the memories of previous projects (failed and realised) and I can tell you EXACTLY which left-over bits from which project went into each one.  They make me very VERY happy :)

When I shared a photo of my hanging basket on Facebook and Instagram, I had such a great response.  Well, on Facebook, not Instagram.  Instagram hates me now.  Apart from requests for the pattern, you guys also gave me some brilliant ideas about what to do with all my baskets.

So, while I figure out which of those great ideas I’m going to employ, you are welcome to the pattern.  I wasn’t going to share it initially, because I sort of just increase in hdc until the baskets are big enough and then hdc around until they are high enough, adding handles to some and straps to others as the fancy takes me.  But I appreciate that some of you will want more details than that, so I’ve written it out for you.

Hanging Plant Basket Crochet Patterns

Materials

• 10mm crochet hook (I use Clover Amour hooks – Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk)
• The equivalent of 3 or 4 strands of Worsted Weight/Aran yarn held together – please see ‘Strands Held Together’ below.

Strands Held Together

I use as many strands as I can comfortably crochet with with a 10mm hook.  If I am having to wrestle with each stitch, I’m using too many strands together and will drop a strand or two.  If my work feels floppy, I know I’m not using enough strands held together, so I will either restart with more strands or add another strand or two in. 

My Tip:  To get a nice firm basket, you do want to feel like you’re doing a bit of a work-out.  If it’s too easy, up your strands!

It is very subjective.  There is no gauge except for working as tight as you comfortably can to achieve the fabric you want.

When you run out of one strand, substitute it for some more scrap yarn (roughly equivalent to the same thickness as the one you just dropped).  For instance, if you run out of a strand of worsted weight, substitute it for another strand of worsted weight OR two strands of dk OR one strand of dk and 2-3 strands of Cotton 8 equivalent.  Have fun with it.  Paint with Yarn!

Abbreviations

(US Terminology)

• Ch – Chain
• Hdc – Half-double crochet
• Sc – Single crochet
• Sl st – Slip stitch
• St/sts – Stitch/stitches
• () – Repeat instructions between brackets the number of times specified

Notes

These baskets are crocheted in a spiral (amigurumi style) without joining at the end of a round.  If you need help with that method, please see First Method in THIS POST.  You may wish to mark the first st of each round with a stitch marker or some scrap yarn so that you can identify it in the next round.

Basic Recipe

• To make the basket bases bigger, add more increase rounds.  After about 6 increase rounds, your base will start to buckle, though, so I wouldn’t go much bigger than that without a fair knowledge of how to stop that from happening.  You can find some details for that in THIS Round Rag Rug TUTORIAL.
• To make the baskets taller, add more rounds to the side until it is as high as you want it to be.
• To make the straps longer or shorter, add more chains or take some away. 

Small Crochet Hanging Basket Pattern

Rough Size:

• 14cm/5.5″ diameter
• 13cm/5.1″ height
• 50cm/19.7″ straps
• 150 g of yarn

Materials I Used (left-overs):

• 1 strand Chunky Monkey Bumblebee (1712) – From the Camping in Cornwall Rug
• 1 strand Chunky Monkey Cream (1005) – From Charlotte’s Sunshine Baby
• 1 strand Stonewashed XL Beryl (873) followed by 1 strand Secret Garden Summer House (707) when the Beryl ran out
• 2 strands Secret Garden – Secluded Lake (703) and Rose Arch (708) – All Secret Garden from my Lynda Blanket

Pattern

Round 1:  Working into a magic ring:  ch 1 (doesn’t count as a st).  Sc, 9 hdc into the ring.  {1 sc, 9 hdc}

Round 2:  Make 2 hdc in the sc.  Make 2 hdc in each of the 9 hdc.  {20 hdc}

Round 3:  (Make 2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next st) 10 times.  {30 hdc}

Round 4:  Hdc in each st around.  {30 hdc}

Rounds 5 – 9:  As Round 4.

Round 10:  Ch 40 (or more, if you want longer straps), skip the next 6 sts.  Hdc in the next 9 sts.  Ch 40, skip the next 6 sts, hdc in the next 8 sts.  Sc in the next st, which should be the last hdc before the ch-40.  Sl st in the first ch of the ch-40.  Fasten off and work away all your ends.

Alternatively, you may not want a basket with two long handles.  You may prefer one with one short handle.  In that case, follow Rounds 1 – 9 above.  Then continue with the Alternative Round 10 below.

Alternative Round 10:  Hdc in the next 23 sts.  Ch 12, hdc in the next 5 sts.  Sc in the next st and sl st in the last st.  This will create a little bump where you finish off, but when you work your ends away, it won’t be very noticeable.  This will give you a hanging strap of roughly 13cm/5.1″.

Medium Crochet Hanging Basket Pattern

Rough Size:

• 16cm/6.3″ diameter
• 15cm/5.9″ height
• 60cm/23.6″ straps
• 200 g of yarn

Materials I Used (left-overs):

• 1 strand Stonewashed XL Canada Jade (846) followed by Peridot (867) when the Canada Jade ran out
• 1 strand Stonewashed XL Crystal Quartz (854) followed by Rose Quartz (860) followed by Garnet (850)
• 1 strand River Washed XL Steenbras (982) – From Ubuntu CAL 2018
• 1 Strand Wanderlust Hawaii (457) – From Life in Colour Shawl
• 1 Strand Stonewashed Lilac Quartz (818)

Pattern

Round 1:  Working into a magic ring:  ch 1 (doesn’t count as a st).  Sc, 9 hdc into the ring.  {1 sc, 9 hdc}

Round 2:  Make 2 hdc in the sc.  Make 2 hdc in each of the 9 hdc.  {20 hdc}

Round 3:  (Make 2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next st) 10 times.  {30 hdc}

Round 4:  (Make 2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next 2 sts) 10 times.  {40 hdc}

Round 5:  Hdc in each st around.  {40 hdc}

Rounds 6 – 12:  As Round 5.

Round 13:  Ch 50 (or more, if you want longer straps), skip the next 6 sts.  Hdc in the next 14 sts.  Ch 50, skip the next 6 sts, hdc in the next 13 sts.  Sc in the next st, which should be the last hdc before the ch-50.  Sl st in the first ch of the ch-50.  Fasten off and work away all your ends.

I hope this inspires you to delve into your scrap yarn and make some baskets.

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