Looking for craft storage? How about crafting a chunky knit basket to contain your supplies? Organize your stash with a custom knit basket that you made yourself. It will tie in with your arts & crafts supplies so much better than boring plastic storage containers. A handmade basket is not only practical and functional, it is SO much prettier than plastic! Keep reading for my FREE knit basket pattern made with chunky yarn and a hard basket bottom.

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How to Knit a Basket

Can you knit a basket?

Yes! It’s so easy to knit a basket in rows, then seam together and add a hard basket bottom. The free knitted basket pattern is worked from the bottom up on circular or straight needles in rows. Then it’s just a matter of seaming the short ends together and joining the piece to a hard basket bottom. You can do it!

You will need the following supplies to make this easy knit basket:

Supplies

• Size 15 (10.0 mm) circular needles at least 24″ length (or straight needles at least 14″ length)
• 1 skein of Wool Ease Thick & Quick size 6 yarn (106 yds per skein) to make a size Small basket (with plenty of yarn leftover to make another!)
  • Color: Fisherman
  • or similar weight yarn
• scissors
• tapestry needle
• 5.9″ diameter hard basket bottom
• optional Leather Label

Knitting Abbreviations

CO – cast on

K – knit stitch                                              

P – purl stitch   

sts – stitches

Rep – repeat

BO – bind off

PATTERN INFORMATION

The chunky basket evokes a simple, textured style that can be useful in any setting. The stitch pattern has a weaved look to it, similar to a weaved basket. Can you envision many of these baskets tucked away in your craft room, filled with needles and yarn?

 The FREE knit basket pattern for a Small sized basket is provided below.

• but you can also get the ad-free, printable pdf KNIT NESTING BASKET PATTERNS in the ETSY SHOP!  The pdf has helpful photos included, as well as an additional pattern for a Medium basket size (which is shorter in height, but wider around):

Before we begin on this pattern, are you a brand new knitter? You may be interested in taking my knitting class first, to master the basics …

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EASY KNIT BASKET PATTERN

Gauge: 4″ (10cm) square = 9 sts by 12 rows in pattern.

How do you knit a basket with a hard bottom?

NOTES: First, you will begin the bottom of the basket by casting on and knitting the instructed # of rows in the pattern to form a rectangle piece.

Next, you will bind off at the top of the basket piece.

Next, you will join the short ends of the rectangle together with a seam to form the round basket piece.

Lastly, you will attach the round basket piece to a hard wood bottom to form the full basket.

Instructions are as follows for how to knit a basket in rows…

Chunky Knit Basket Pattern

With size 15 needles, CO 42 sts with size 6 yarn.

Weave Pattern

Row 1 (RS): Knit across. (42 sts throughout)

Row 2: Purl across.

Row 3: K2, *p2, k2; rep from * to end.

Row 4: P2, *k2, p2; rep from * to end.

Row 5: Knit across.

Row 6: Purl across.

Row 7: Rep Row 4.

Row 8: Rep Row 3.

Rep Rows 1-8 one more time, then rep Rows 1-4 only. (20 rows total)

BO knitwise.

Finishing the Basket

SEAM short ends of basket(s) as follows :

Use yarn in a lighter weight & similar color plus a tapestry needle to join the two short ends of the basket together with an invisible vertical seam.

This will form a round basket piece with no bottom.

Weave in all loose ends to WS.

Add basket piece to hard bottom as follows :

• Gather your hard basket bottom – 5.9″ diameter for Small sized basket
• Determine the number of holes around the circumference of the hard basket bottom. Calculate the difference between the number of sts around your knit piece and that number of holes. This will indicate your # of sts to ‘SKIP’.
• Attach: With RS facing, use a tapestry needle to evenly weave size 6 yarn through stitches at the bottom of the knit piece and into the holes on the hard basket bottom. You will need to skip the ‘SKIP’ number of sts evenly around the bottom. Break yarn when finished & secure to bottom of basket.

For instance, my Small basket hard bottom had 32 holes, so I needed to evenly skip 10 sts (42-32) when weaving around. Therefore, I skipped every 4th stitch around when weaving each knit stitch through each hole.

Weave in loose ends to WS (inside of basket).

OPTIONAL – add small labels/tags:

Small leather labels/tags add just the right touch to the top of your baskets.

They are easy to fasten on (or sew on).

Important Tips for Knitting your Basket

Some things to keep in mind as you knit the basket are:

• The Right Side (RS) of the basket rectangle will face you as you knit in odd-numbered rows in the pattern.
• Try not to add rows to the basket, as a shorter basket is more sturdy.
• Use an invisible vertical seam to join the short ends together, preferably with a smaller weight yarn in a similar color.
• Try to evenly attach the bottom of the basket (cast-on row) to the holes in the hard basket bottom.

Finished Size

The finished Small sized basket measures approximately 18.5″ circumference by 6″ height. 

Using your Knit Basket

Tuck small skeins of yarn, needles, knitting supplies, or other craft items into the basket and place it in your storage area. The textured yarn will conceal your bits & bobs, while enhancing the look of your organized shelves. Functional and pretty!

What color yarn would you use for your baskets? Lion Brand has so many terrific colors to choose from in the WOOL EASY THICK & QUICK yarn series. I’m particularly partial to using the Wheat, Fisherman, or Grey Marble colors for these cozy baskets.

Don’t forget that this knit basket pattern is also available in a digital pdf pattern.  The pdf has helpful photos as well as instructions to make the Medium sized basket (shorter and wider).  You’ll be able to make multiples of baskets in both sizes, then group them on your shelves or tables. You can also nest the baskets together when they’re not in use. Grab the KNIT NESTING BASKETS PATTERN in my Etsy shop.

If you love knit baskets, you may also love THIS BASKET PATTERN which is knitted in the round:

I hope you loved this easy knit basket pattern and plan to make many of them!

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