DIY Paper Tube Baskets

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Now, due to the forced stay at home due to quarantine measures, many have more free time. And this is a great opportunity to learn something new, to find some fresh hobby. For example - try to weave from newspaper tubes. You can just make a beautiful basket or vase for Easter cake and colored eggs by the holiday of Bright Sunday. Or weave a beautiful box for storing various little things, a jewelry box and other necessities

Harvesting newspaper tubes

The straw weaving is based on the same technique as the vine weaving. With the difference that you first need to twist and glue these same tubes yourself.

You can make tubes from any paper. But many craftswomen chose newspaper tubes.

• Firstly, it is an inexpensive material. And some of the press are given out for free.

• And secondly, it is convenient to work with it. It is moderately thin, and the tubes from it are quite strong, and at the same time flexible.

To make straws you will need:

• newspapers;

• ruler;

• scissors;

• PVA glue;

• thin knitting needle.

To prepare the tubes, an A3 newspaper sheet is cut into long strips about 3-4 cm wide and about 40 cm long, respectively.

After that, the twisting process is started. To do this, place a strip of paper in front of you on the table. Lubricate the lower right corner of the strip with a drop of glue and begin to gently twist the tube diagonally. To make it more convenient, you can help yourself with a knitting needle (or a toothpick, a ballpoint pen shaft).

The knitting needle is convenient because it is long, curvy, slippery, and can be easily removed from the twisted tube. Place the knitting needle on a corner of the paper at an angle. Lubricate the end of the paper strip with glue. And start winding the newspaper around the knitting needle.

At the opposite end of the tube, the tip is also glued. You need to twist it tightly. Then the tube keeps its shape well and does not unwind.

The tubes are thinner on one side and slightly wider on the other. This is how it should be, thanks to this it will be more convenient to connect them later in the process of work - gluing one into the other.

Making a basket

Any product - be it a basket, casket or vase - begins to weave from the bottom. To do this, you first need eight tubes. They are placed four on top of each other crosswise and glue the junction. These will be racks. It is advisable to leave them under pressure until dry.

In the meantime, the working tubes that will braid the racks need to be moistened. They are sprayed with water from a spray bottle and placed in a plastic bag or wrapped with cling film. This is necessary so that the tubes do not break during operation.

When the cross-piece of the rack of eight tubes is dry, they begin to work. You should have a crosspiece with four beams in your hands, each of which has 4 tubes. Take one working tube, fold it in half. One half is placed under the "beam" of the cross, and the other above the "beam". On the next ray, they are interchanged, thus intertwining with each other. In this way, the crosspiece of the strut-tubes is braided in three rows. After that, each rack of 4 tubes is moved apart by two. Thus, the bottom of the cross turns into a "sun" with eight rays. Three more rows of weaving are made. Then the racks are pushed apart again, and braided one at a time.

So weave the bottom until it gets the required diameter. If necessary, the working tube is lengthened by gluing a new one. Then a form is placed on the bottom. For example, a glass jar. The stand is bent vertically upward at a right angle in its shape. And they are already starting to weave the sides of the future casket or basket. When the desired height is woven, the ends of the racks are cut, folded inward and hidden inside the weaving. You can paint the basket to give it a decorative look.