Valentine Heart Basket

The completed heart basket may be used in several ways. It may be hung up as a Valentine ornament. It can be filled with candy and given as a Valentine present. Or, you may elect to make a basket using different colors and use it for an occasion other than Valentine’s Day.

This project is rated: MODERATE

Materials needed:

• Computer paper, 2 colors
• Craft knife or scissors
• Glue
• Crayons, colored pencils, or paint

Project Instructions

1. Either print two copies of the plain pattern at right, or one copy of the plain and one copy of the colored pattern if you have a color printer.
2. Color one, or both, of the plain basket pattern to suit yourself.
3. When you print the patterns, each pattern has a wide and a narrow strip to be used for the handle. Cut out the wide handle piece from one color and the narrow piece from the other color.
4. Glue the narrow piece in the center of the wide piece. This creates a stripe. Set the handle aside to dry.
5. Cut out the basket pieces from both printed patterns.
6. Fold each basket piece in half (curved end to curved end with the printed lines to the outside.)
7. Cut along the lines. Do not cut beyond the end of each line.

Assembling the basket is a little tricky. In order to simplify the instructions, see the images of the cut pattern pieces with numbers and letters to aid in the instructions.

Basket Instructions

After cutting the pattern pieces, each piece will have five doubled strips which will be called “fingers” for the purposes of instruction.

1. Insert finger “1” inside of finger “A”.
2. Insert finger “B” inside of finger “1”.
3. Insert finger “1” inside of finger “C”.
4. Insert finger “D” inside of finger “1”.
5. Insert finger “1” inside of finger “E”.
   After completing this sequence, your partially woven basket should look something like the image at right.
6. Slide finger “1” down on the red fingers to make room for the next finger to be woven in.
   Then weave in finger “2” as follows:
7. Insert finger “A” inside of finger “2”.
8. Insert finger “2” inside of finger “B”.
9. Insert finger “C” inside of finger “2”.
10. Insert finger “2” inside of finger “D”.
11. Insert finger “E” inside of finger “2”.
    After completing this sequence, your partially woven basket should look something like the image at right below.
12. Slide the woven white fingers down on the red fingers to make room for the next white finger.
13. Repeat steps 1 – 5 substituting “3” for “1”.
14. Slide the woven white fingers down on the red fingers to make room for the next white finger.
15. Repeat steps 7 – 11 substituting “4” for “2”.
16. Slide the woven white fingers down on the red fingers to make room for the next white finger.
17. Repeat steps 1 – 5 substituting “5” for “1”.

After completing these steps, the bottom part of the basket is finished. The next step is to attach the handle. Each end of the handle is to be fastened to the inside of each of the front and the back of the basket. The handle can be glued at each end to the front and back of the basket. However, it also may be fastened with staples (see first picture.). Stapling makes a stronger bond and it also fastens the two basket pieces together.