Whit's Knits: Crocheted Stash Basket

It doesn't take many years of knitting before one day you wake up to realize you have a lot of yarn. So you embark on a striped project campaign hoping to pare down, but end up buying more and more yarn because you don't have exactly the right colors, and finally you face one of knitting's truths: stashes are unbustable.

And where there's a stash, there's a storage problem. Instead of heading over to the dreaded Container Store, I decided that I would crochet my own storage unit. I imagined something with the feeling of a handmade basket; I wanted it to be nubbly, beachy and beautiful, and so, I turned to Hand Jive's Rustic Silk. One hundred percent Tussah Silk, handspun and handdyed, it is a really special yarn. It is splendidly earthy and fascinatingly varied, like Mother Nature herself created it.

I love my new basket for yarn, but now I'm wondering if I'll need another one for afternoons in the park, days at the beach, and weekends in the country. Ahhh...more yarn...!

Materials

• 2 skeins of Hand Jive's Rustic Silk, 100 % tussah silk. This color is Buttermilk.
• A size "I" crochet hook
• A removable stitch marker (or safety pin)

Pattern

Gauge

3 single crochets = 1 inch

Finished Size

Approximately 13 inches in diameter and 9 inches high

The Bottom

Chain 6 and slip stitch into the first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: Make 12 single crochets (sc) into the ring.

Note: Mark the first stitch of the next round with a removable marker. Reposition the marker at the beginning of each round to mark the new first stitch.

Round 2: *1 sc into next stitch, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (18 stitches)

Round 3: *1 sc into next 2 stitches, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (24 stitches)

Round 4: *1 sc into next 3 stitches, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (30 stitches)

Continue to work in this pattern, each round adding one stitch between the increases until there are 17 stitches between the increases. (114 stitches)

The Sides

Preparation Rounds: Make 1 sc into each stitch for 5 rounds.

Round 1: 1 double crochet (dc) into each stitch.

Round 2: 1 sc into each stitch.

Round 3: * Chain 5, skip 5 stitches, 1 sc into next stitch...

...repeat from * to end of round. (Make the last sc into the last stitch of the previous round.)

Round 4: *5 sc into the 5 chain arch, 1 sc into the top of the sc of the previous round...

...repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1-4 four more times. (Make sure as you work that the "holes" line up. If you've missed a stitch or added one, it's easy to get back on track in Round 3. Just be careful to work the sc directly above the sc from the previous repeat.)

Next Round: *1 dc into next 18 stitches, skip a stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (108 stitches)

Next Round: *1 sc into next 17 stitches, skip a stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (102 stitches)

Next Round: Slip stitch into each stitch.

Handles

Continuing from the last round, chain 1 and sc into the next 4 stitches.

*Turn the work, chain 1, 1 sc into next 4 stitches, repeat from * until handle measures 10 inches.

To keep the edges of the handle straight, make the first sc of each row into the stitch marked by the arrow...

... and make the final sc of each row into the chain of the previous row.

Finish the handle with a right side row.

Fold the handle over so that the right sides are facing each other, and the inside corners of the handle are 3 1/2 inches apart.

Insert the hook into the slip stitch at the top of the bag and make a sc.

Continue to attach the handle to the bag by pulling a loop through both the next stitch of the handle and the next slip stitch of the bag, and then making a single crochet.

Continue to the end of the row.

Cut the yarn and pull the tail through the last stitch.

Fold the bag in half in order to place the second handle directly across from the first handle. With the right side facing you, start the new handle at its far right corner by inserting the hook into the slip stitch of the bag.

Pull a stitch through and make a chain. Make 1 sc into the next 4 stitches.

Make a 10 inch handle identical to the first. Finish with a right side row, and attach the handle to the bag the same way you did with the first handle, although this time you'll attach the left end of the handle instead of the right.

Weave in the ends and fill your basket up!