02/09/2012 - Inner Tube Basket

Success! It makes me so happy when things turn out the way I picture them in my head!

I would love nothing more than to regale you with tales of my great carpentry prowess, but carpenters and handymen everywhere would cringe at my methods. Let's just say I managed to build a wooden frame for the basket and it is sturdy. I went to the lumber store and the guy looked at me like I grew a second head when I told him what I was working on. He recommended 3/4" x 3/4" wood, but I should have stuck with my guy feeling and gone with something thicker. Also, my "cross that bridge when I get to it" attitude I take with crafting does not translate well into carpentry!

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tubes
Other/New Material: wood, screws, nails
Tools: saw, ruler, pencil, hammer, sand paper, wood glue, staple gun

How I did it: I won't bore you with my unconventional frame building methods, just the weaving part.I tried to use the same size inner tubes for the weaving (a thin road bike inner tube) but ran out of the really thin ones so the inner tubes on the long side of the basket are a little thicker. I used the staple gun to attach one end of the inner tube one of the short wood pieces on the frame and wrapped it around the "box" horizontally until it met the end I started with. I made sure the piece was taut and stapled it in place over the the other staple. I continued this, butting each piece as close together as possible until I reached the bottom. Next I stapled strips of the inner tube along the top edge of one of the long sides of the frame, again butting them against each other. I then began to weave these strips through the horizontal strips I started with, pulled the strips across the bottom then wove the strips up the other side so it covered 3 sides. I made sure the pieces were taut and stapled them on the other top edge. I repeated this on the short sides, except wove the inner tube through the bottom strips from the long sides. I cut strips of rubber to cover the edges and the staples that were on the outside of the box. 

What I would do differently: I am still trying to figure out the best option for a handle, but I am more than satisfied with the result.