How to Make a Basket with Paper: Easy Coiled Basket Craft

These baskets made from paper is a really fun paper bag coiled basket craft. I love that this easy basket craft for kids of all ages is made out of recycled materials. You will only need a few simple craft supplies that you probably already have laying around your house.

Make a Paper Basket with Kids

These coiled paper baskets are really fun to make, but do take a little crafting patience. It is part basket weaving and part fun paper craft.

Related: Try these 30 cardboard box crafts

While you can really make a coiled basket from any type of paper from which you can make paper strips like newspaper, craft paper, wrapping paper, decorative paper, construction paper or scrap paper, we are using recycled paper bags from the grocery store today. Commonly this same technique is used for newspaper baskets because it is really easy to make straight line vertical strip segments that are really long from newspaper.

Ages for Basket Making with Paper

• I found this was a craft done best when I was able to help my 5 & 7 year old.
• Older elementary age kids could probably manage making these on their own.

The kids will love having a sturdy coiled basket to keep their most beloved trinkets. These craft ideas make fun gifts for mother’s day, father’s day and beyond…

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Paper Bag Coiled Basket Craft

Supplies Needed

How to Make a Coile Basket out of Paper

Step 1: Create Strips of Paper

1. Cut down one seam of a brown paper bag with scissors.
2. Cut off the bottom portion of the bag. You are left with a long rectangular piece of paper bag.
3. Cut the remaining bag into three-inch strips*.

*We did this by measuring 3 inches and then folding to create a guideline for cutting. To make a little baskets you will use one paper bag cut into three strips.

The wide strips will make larger coils and you can change the width of the next strip to make a different size sides of your basket.

Step 2: Twist the Long Strips of Paper

Twist the first strip around and around until your strip of paper looks like a coiled rope or long tube. Repeat with your remaining strips of paper until the rest of the strips are all coiled as well.

We found this worked best when I held one end and my daughter twisted the paper bag. She would start toward where I was holding and work her way down until the entire strip was twisted into a paper rope.

Step 3: Starting the Basket

1. Take your yarn and thread it onto your needle.
2. Form a small loop at the end of one of your twisted ropes.
3. Tie the yarn around the base.
4. Twist it around a number of times and then tie a knot.

Step 4: Coil the Basket

Basket Making Tip: This part was best done with two people. I was coiling the basket around while my daughter was weaving the needle and thread through.

1. Begin coiling and weaving.
2. Coil the paper rope around once.
3. Work the needle around the coil and through the loop you created in the center.
4. Make another “stitch” a little distance apart from the first. Our stitches ranged from 1/4-1/2 inches apart.
5. Continue to make stitches around the first coil.
6. Coil the paper one more time, making it slightly larger than the first time around.
7. Continue the stitching process, returning to the center hole continuing until you have the full diameter you want for the bottom of your basket.
8. After creating a few coils and returning to the center hole in stitching, you will begin to stitch the coil on top to the coil directly underneath so that the inside of the basket is growing taller as well as a little wider while you are building the sides of the basket.
9. Continue as your basket gets bigger and bigger.
10. When you run out of “rope” twist another paper bag rope onto the last. This will take a little extra securing with the yarn (a bonus stitch or two where the two ropes join together). 

Step 5: Finishing the Coiled Basket

You can make your basket as large as you like. Simply keep going with the process until you have the desired size and basket shape.

To finish the top of the basket, knot the yarn with an attached rope and trim off any excess yarn. You can always use s small amount of glue to finish off any edges you desire on the top of your basket.

Easy Paper Basket Variations

Next time we are going to add in a basket handle too…just haven’t quite decided on our own design for that! These could be really cute Easter baskets if created in the pastel colors of Easter.

Your kids now have a great project for holding their special things. We decided it would be a great basket to hold my daughter’s rainbow loom bracelets.

This craft takes diligence, but the results are a lot of fun and with some practice it is an easy craft that you could repeat for different occasions with different designs.

More Paper Bag Crafts for Kids

More Paper Crafts for Kids

Did your kids like learning how to make a basket out of paper? What did they use to make their coiled basket?