Large Cloth Coil Basket

Closeup of where I am working right now.

And another, from the inside.

A different perspective.

Upon finishing the basket in my last post I had a lot of cord left on the reel that I had purchased from an op-shop. I decided to begin another basket. I enjoyed the process so much that I became addicted for few days!

I really liked a large shallow 'baby basket' that I had seen in Susan Breier's book, It's A Wrap. Susan's  work is inspiring and the book has good instructions. However it is all done by machine. I am pretty much committed to exclusive manual handling of cloth and thread and don't think I would give up the sensuous, tactile nature of hand work for anything - except  (haha) sewing curtains maybe.

The base of this basket is 14 inches, which doesn't sound much but it is really pretty large when you consider the diameter. I wasn't sure how I would go building up the sides and thought for awhile that my basket was going to be a failure. But I persevered and tried a few things and finally worked  out how to go upright. Susan's book helped here with her description of different angling. I used soft cording but as I am not machine sewing I think next time I might try something a bit firmer for such a large basket.

My aim in making this basket was to experiment as much as possible with building techniques and materials. I did. I have included many different textures and combinations wanting to see how they impacted the construction process. I explored what I like the feel of, what I could work with again, and what might be best for specific purposes. I haven't finished but I wanted to post it for you to see.

At close of needle I still had not fully completed my embroidered garden, but will post it next ...I HOPE!!!

Happy stitching everyone, Gilly