Sharing some different shapes and sizes that I have explored and what I have learned about each.

Discs

The discs that I have done are either circular or oval. They are quick and easy and I love making them. Starting is always the hardest part (for any of my baskets) but once I get the first two times around, discs are a blast. I typically do three coils around the core and then do one “stitch” to connect to the previous row. If I’m trying to do a more complicated pattern, like a spiral, I will do one coil and one stitch, but for most projects I don’t do that. The discs I have done have either been coasters, seat cushions or floor mats.

The purpose of the disc determines its size and thickness. Coasters are small and relatively thin. Floor mats are large and thick. Seat cushions are the size of the chair and thick. For floor mats or seat cushions, braiding works well. Braiding is quick and uses lots of plastic. But it it a little too “bumpy” for coasters.

I have also done some mixed media coil seat cushions where the interior core was plastic, but the exterior coil was fabric. These are very comfy!

I’ve created several soap dishes, which are not quite discs, because I do one or two rows up to keep the soap from slipping off. Soap dishes are a great use for the plastic. They are safe and useful in any bathroom, kitchen or laundry room. They help allow a bar of soap dry and if they get covered with soap “scum” they clean up easily. Plus they are quick to make.

Straight Edged Circular or Oval Baskets

Baskets are made by creating a disc and then, when the diameter is the desired size, building the next rows up or on top of the previous row, instead of next to the row. Straight Edged baskets are ones where the sides come up (at least in theory) at 90 degrees from the base. I’ve found that keeping the sides straight gets harder as the basket gets larger.

One of my first attempts at a large basket was the laundry basket. It didn’t turn out the way I had hoped and by the end I felt like I was wrestling an octopus, but I did learn a lot from it. learned that braiding was not the best technique for something that large. I also learned that I had a lot to learn about different types of plastic and their structural integrity. The laundry basket was done completely with newspaper bags – I calculated close to 1,000 of them. If I were to do something that large again, I would not use only newspaper bags. However, it is one of my favorite projects even though it didn’t look the way I expected.

Once I discovered coil baskets that became my preferred method for straight edge baskets. For small or medium baskets, I use the same “three wrap, one stitch” technique that I use for discs. But I learned when I tried to do taller baskets that approach wasn’t particularly strong and the baskets started to loose shape. I also learned that to do spiral patterns (which I kind of love) it works better if I do “one wrap, one stitch” once I start going up.

I have also done several oval baskets. The dimension of the oval is determined by how you start the base disc. I haven’t done enough – nor have a done the math – to figure out an exact formula for creating the size, so my ovals are not consistently shaped. I don’t have any photos of how to start an oval, so I did this quick sketch:

I haven’t done much experimentation with patterns on ovals – I’ve only done stripes. That might need to be a project in the future.

In my next blog I will share some images and insight on baskets with sloped sides.

I would love to learn what you think of these and what you are doing with recycled materials. Please leave a comment!