After last times tutorial for the simple grass basket (Link >>) I’m going to show you how to make a lid for the grass basket. It’s just as simple and very easy to do.
Materials needed:
grass
yarn, waxed thread (buy here*) or hemp cord (buy here*)
long, blunt needle (buy here*)
You can let the grass dry a little bit, or just use it fresh. The longer the grass blades, the better.
Start again with a bundle of grass, about as thick as your finger. Tie the bundle together – about half an inch from the end – with strong yarn. Leave a little bit of the short end of the yarn. You will need it later to make some knots.
Bend the long ends of the grass down. Start with a little bit on the side and work your way around the bundle, to distribute the grass evenly.
If all the grass blades are bent down and distributed around evenly, you shouldn’t be able to see the short ends. Look for the yarn and bring both ends out on opposite sides.
Wrap the yarn around the grass a few times and secure it tightly with a knot. Now you have got a little “knob” at the end. That will be the handle of the lid.
Wrap the longer end of the yarn around the grass bundle for a few inches. It should not be too loose nor too tight.
Start to coil the grass like a snail and stitch it together tightly. Use a long, blunt needle (buy here*) to do this. The little “knob” handle should protrude from the coil at a right angle.
It might take a while until the handle sticks up straight. Maybe you will need to bend it a few times and stitch it into place.
Now you go on like you did in the grass basket tutorial. (Link >>) The grass is coiled and stitched together tightly. For this you have to wrap the yarn around the loose grass and stitch through the grass coil just UNDERNEATH one of the previous stitches. If the gap between the stitches gets too wide, make an extra stitch.
The grass bundle should always have the same thickness throughout the coil. If it gets too thin, add new grass blades. Put the new blades in the middle of the bundle, to hide the ends.
Put the coil on your basket a few times, to check if it has reached the desired size. It should be a little wider than your basket.
If you are satisfied with the size of the lid, stop adding new grass and go on for a few more inches. When your bundle gets thin, secure it with a tight knot and cut off the excess ends.
Now the lid just sits loosely on the basket. To give it more security you need to add one extra step. Take a new bundle of grass (a little thicker this time) and secure it at the ends.
Lay it flat on the bottom side of the lid and stitch it onto the lid about 1 inch in from the side. (depending on how thick the walls of your basket are)
Form a big loop with the thick bundle of grass and stitch it onto the lid.
Let the ends of the loop overlap for 2 inches or so and stitch everything together. Secure it with a knot and cut off the excess grass.
The grass loop on the underside will keep the lid from sliding off.
And that’s how your finished basket with a lid will look like! It is surprisingly sturdy and keeps its shape even months later. 🙂
Tip: Try to use different materials. Straw works really well. You can get amazing results with raffia (buy here*), rushes or other plant fibers. Even wood wool can be worked into a rustic basket.
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