Storage basket Upcycle

Over lockdown, I have had a lot of time to think about what direction I want to take both my blog and my instagram page. Although I have a fairly good idea of a direction now, I also know that I enjoy upcycling and want to be able to incorporate this into potential future projects. Therefore, I decided to upcycle and old, worn basket that I had laying around.

Before this project, the basket was used purely to hold nail varnishes and had stains and was yellowed from sunlight. Even though I didn't want to do anything major with the basket, it needed a fresh coat of paint (or 2). However, I also wanted to add an insert to add some new colour to the product and make it look all round neater. Therefore, I searched charity shops for old scarves or blankets that would work and found an old scarf that was mostly white with black hearts, which would work perfectly.

I started out by painting the basket white, which took a few days to paint and dry between coats, but once that was painted I could begin making the insert.

I measured and cut out the 5 individual pieces needed to make the insert and then, starting around the centre piece i laid the pieces face-to-face and stitch along the inside. This ensured that all the seams were on the inside, making the insert look cleaner. Repeating this process for all 5 pieces, I had a cross shape. From there I needed to stitch the edges together to create the basket shape that was desired. I made sure to leave about an inch overhang so that it overlapped the top of the basket, making the whole thing look more finished.

Although this project was only small, I really enjoyed getting my sewing machine out once again and even more than that, I've found that I have a love for upcycling! Using an old scarf and basket to create something cute and usable was amazing! During my final project at University last year, I focused on upcycling and the importance of resuing old materials rather than using new materials. The statistics I found were shocking! Furniture is quickly becoming one of the main 'fast' products, meaning it is designed and built to be thrown away within a few years to meet new and ever-changing trends... Companies such as Ikea, who provide cheap, low quality furniture, help push this idea of fast-furniture and the desire to throw away furniture once it's "no longer fashionable"!

Therefore, the re-use of old materials, particularly from charity shops is something I really want to support and use in my own projects in the future. Plus, it's always fun to see bits of rubbish turn into something new and exciting!