Floral Picnic Basket

Fall is romantic, with this “mood swing”, I refashioned my hemp basket to become a lovely Fall Floral Picnic Basket by adding some crochet flowers and leaves. You can get the pattern for the flower and leaves here, it has a butterfly motif for you to crochet too.

Fall / Autumn has arrived at the Northern Hemisphere countries, I love this weather, cold yet not too chilling. I find it is the best time to go out for a walk, picnic, or have an open-air afternoon tea. Crochet or knit at this time of the year would be great too since winter is just around the corner!!!

Be that you use this picnic basket to bring out your yarn to crochet or knit at outdoor, or hand sewing some fabric; you can even bring some bread, sandwiches, fruits, and drinks for a small picnic; or use the basket to collect flowers from the garden; isn’t it a great life to enjoy such a lovely weather!!!!

You can adapt this method to decorate your existing hemp basket, or sisal basket, or any round base soft basket that you made or bought. Pinch the basket below the handle to imagine how it will turn out if you were to refashion it the way I did.

Happy Fall and enjoy your life to the fullest!

Floral Picnic Basket

Materials & Tools:
1. Round base hemp basket (crochet pattern here), or, any similar soft basket
2. Yarn, any weight, I used linen yarn. The lighter weight, the smaller the flower will be.
3. Crochet hook: 3.5mm or size to match your yarn
4. Tapestry needle
5. Wooden button, 2-inch diameter, 2

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
sc=single crochet
st = stitch
slst = slip stitch

Prepare a hemp basket, you can buy a similar one from the market or crochet this one with this pattern.

Crochet a strap, 1″ x 4″. My pattern is:
Row 1 : ch8
Row 2 – 18 : ch1 (as first sc), 7 sc on each st, turn
button loop : ch until the length (including the strap width) is double the diameter of your button, slst to the other end of the last row of strap.
Row 19 : slst on each st, fasten off.
(Remark: try the button loop on the button before fasten off, it should be snugly fit.)

Crochet 8 flowers and 2 leaves with this pattern.

Sew the strap on the hemp basket by using tapestry needle, about 1 ” below the handle.
Stitch it along the yarn on the hemp basket.

Sew the button to the basket.

Sew another button to the other side.

Put the loop onto the button. You can do this after stitching up the flowers and leaves.

Sew on the flowers on the basket. You may also glue it on with hot glue gun.
Hide all yarn ends and neaten it up.
Now the basket is really to accompany you to anywhere you want it to be.