A woven basket made from a recycled book

This basket made from a recycled book is created by folding small pieces of paper and interlocking them together. It takes a little while to make, but is made using one simple fold repeated many times, so once you have the hang of it, its really easy to do, and quite therapeutic too. This technique can also be used to fold and weave many other materials, so is really useful to know if, like me, you love to make all kinds of things from all kinds of materials!

Basket made from a recycled book
Basket made from a recycled book

To make this basket, the main thing you need is an old book. You could also try using some other type of material like magazines, newspapers or plastic wrappers of some sort if you are feeling adventurous. You will also need something to measure and cut your book (or other material) and a piece of cardboard for the base of the basket. I used cardboard recycled from some food packaging – the same thickness as a cereal packet – but doubled up so it was twice as sturdy.

What you need
What you need

To begin, you need to cut lots of rectangles that measure 12,5cm by 5cm. I managed to get exactly four out of each of my sheets of paper. You will need a lot of these rectangles to finish a basket. I used 32 for each, and made 4 layers to make a basket that is roughly 12cm in diameter and 10cm high. You will also need a few extra pieces to attach the layers together. I used 16. So to make the same basket as me, you need 144 rectangles!

Cut lots of 12.5 x 5cm rectangles
Cut lots of 12.5 x 5cm rectangles

Making the building blocks for your recycled book basket

Before attaching them together, you need to fold up the rectangles by following these steps :

1. Fold and unfold the rectangle in half lengthwise to find the central line.

Fold and unfold the rectangle in half lengthwise
Fold and unfold the rectangle in half lengthwise

2. Fold each edge into the central line lengthwise.

Fold each edge to the central line
Fold each edge to the central line

3. Fold in half lengthwise to make a long thin strip.

Fold in half lengthwise
Fold in half lengthwise

4. Fold and unfold in the other direction to find the central line.

Fold in half
Fold in half

5. Fold each edge to this central line.

Fold each edge to the central line
Fold each edge to the central line

6. Fold in half along this central line.

Fold in half along the central fold to finish
Fold in half along the central fold to finish

Now you have your basic building blocks for the basket.

Building the layers of your recycled book basket

The basket is made by constructing several rings of these folded pieces of recycled book and then joining them together. Here is how to build one of these rings :

1. Take two pieces of paper folded using the steps above.

The two loops of the folded paper
The two loops of the folded paper

2. You can see in the picture above that each folded rectangle has two loops, joined at one end like a V shape (or like some bunny ears). Insert the two loops (or ears) of one folded rectangle into the two holes of another. Push it down to the bottom of the V shape.

The first two pieces joined together
The first two pieces joined together

3. Join the next piece by putting the two loops of a third piece into the two holes of the second loop, making sure to work in a zig-zag pattern.

Adding the third piece
Adding the third piece

Tip: Which way up to attach the pieces

You might find it difficult joining the first few pieces together. I did! But don’t be afraid to try it out, you can always pull it apart and try again if your first attempt isn’t quite right. By experimenting a little you will begin to better understand how the pieces fit together and how to do it efficiently. Here is a little tip to help you with this, once you are up and running:

The folded pieces of paper have a right side and a wrong side.

The right side
The right side
The wrong side
The wrong side

I don’t think it really matters which way up you put the pieces in terms of the final result, but from one side it is much easier to thread the loops through than from the other. So if you can think ahead a little and make sure the right side is placed on the side where you will be inserting the next piece, you will make life a lot easier for yourself!

Adding a piece with the right side lined up where the next piece will go
Adding a piece with the right side lined up where the next piece will go

4. Continue in the same way – always working in a zig-zag shape. Until you have used the correct number of pieces. You can use any number you want, depending on how big you want your basket to be, just make sure it is an even number, and that you use the same number for each ring of your basket.

Continue for the desired number of pieces
Continue for the desired number of pieces

5. To close the ring, you need to open up the very first piece -the one you started with – on one side.

This is a bit scary, but don’t panic. Even if you do mess up, you can simply take this piece off completely, and add it to the other end (as if you were adding just one more piece to your zig-zag) and start again.

Opening up the first piece
Opening up the first piece

6. Now you need to thread this piece through the last piece you added to your zig-zag. We are aiming for the same final result as when we joined the other pieces, but since it is the end of the loop, we have to do it a little differently. First thread the unwoven first piece of paper through one loop of the last piece, so it lines up in a ring, still following the zig-zag shape. Tuck the extra, short piece into this loop too.

Thread the end of the unfolded paper through one loop of the final piece
Thread the end of the unfolded paper through one loop of the final piece

7. Thread the unfolded strip of paper back down the second loop of the last piece. The photo below is taken from the other side, once it has been threaded through.

Thread the unfolded piece down through the second loop of the last piece.
Thread the unfolded piece down through the second loop of the last piece.

8. This is the most fiddly step. Fold the end of the first piece down the middle of the last piece, between the two loops. Use a cocktail stick, or another object to help you push it in, if you are having trouble.

Fold the end down into the middle of the two loops.
Fold the end down into the middle of the two loops.

It’s done! Now make as many rings as you want for your basket. Pile them on top of each other, and stop when you are happy with the final height.

The finished ring
The finished ring

Finishing the basket

To finish of the your basket made from a recycled book, you need to weave the rings together and add the bottom of your basket. Here’s how:

1. Pile the rings on top of each other.

The completed rings
The completed rings

2. Fold a piece of paper using the strips above, but only up to step 3, so you have a long thin strip.

3. Thread this strip through all of your rings from top to bottom, weaving through the existing folds.

Weave through the loops to join them
Weave through the loops to join them

4. Do this in several places around your basket, in both diagonal directions.

5. Glue these strips in place to hold the basket together.

6. Cut a circle of cardboard the right size for the base of your basket and glue it together. I used a glue gun to glue two pieces of card together before gluing around the rim to keep it in place.

Glue a circle of card inside the paper to make the base
Glue a circle of card inside the paper to make the base

And your basket made from a recycled book is now complete!

Basket made from a recycled book
Basket made from a recycled book

To have a go at making this basket made from a recycled book, or to make something else entirely, come along to the event Second Square #5 at Carreau du Temple this weekend. I will be there and will be running a small workshop on the theme How many different objects can we make from a recycled book?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>