Don’t Fence Me In – Make Baskets Instead

This is another wee project I picked up to keep me from going stir crazy when I was sick last weekend. I’m behind the trend on this again (surprise, surprise), but I’ve wanted to make these custom wire baskets for ever. The Pie as a rule is against wire baskets because he always feels like he’s going to jam his fingers in the holes and hurt himself, but then again when it comes to me getting up to shenanigans when he’s out of town, I’m not really considering anyone’s happiness but my own. For these baskets all you need is some welded hardware mesh, usually used for fencing off gardens and things like that (this one has 1/2″ square holes), a wire cutter, and a pair of pliers. Or, if you’re lucky, you can get a two-in-one that’s both cutters and pliers. And you’ll need some patience and strong wrists. This is going to take a while.

I was warned that when I opened the package it might spring open and seriously harm me.

The only thing between me and certain death was this little bitty wire.

When I undid the wire, the whole roll spontaneously sprang open — about three inches. I was expecting a large-scale disruption as it fully unraveled and let me tell you, I was disappointed.

But I kept the wire. Because I always keep wire. And ribbons. And small pieces of string. Man am I a hoarder or what.

Then it was easy to clip out the basket frame in the size I wanted – the best part about this project is being able to make them exactly the size you need. Make sure to leave those nice sharp open prongs. You’ll need at least one set of those on each seam.

Folding it up was a little harder than I expected.

But all the edges matched which was good.

Folding the prongs down over the other side of the basket took some time. And I made a bunch of baskets on this day. So that took a lot of time.

I also folded down the tops for a smoother edge.

It’s just a wee basket.

But it can hold things like coasters.

Or my orchid.

I even made a round one, out of scraps. It was not as hard as I thought it would be.

I made a bunch more and even painted them for another project I started that weekend, so stay tuned for the results shortly!