How to Make a Basket With Yarn & Ballons

Yarn is cut into shorter lengths to make the basket.

A balloon, yarn and glue make up the basic components for creating your own basket for decorative purposes. An inflated balloon creates the mold for the basket so choose the size of the balloon based on how large you want the finished basket. The basket requires drying time before it is hard enough to hold its shape without the balloon for support. This project works well for children with adult supervision. The yarn color and the pattern in which it is applied to the balloon determine the appearance of your homemade basket.

Things You'll Need

• Balloon
• Marker
• Yarn
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• Cup

Instructions

1. Inflate the balloon to the desired size, depending on how large you want the basket. Tie the end of the balloon to keep it inflated. Draw a line around the middle of the balloon with a marker to indicate the top edge of the basket, if you want it a particular height.

2. Cut the yarn into pieces of 12 inches or longer. Use all one color or a variety.

3. Pour the craft glue into a disposable cup or an old container that you don't mind getting messy. Dip a piece of yarn in the glue, allowing it to become saturated. Lift the yarn out of the glue, and use two fingers to push the excess glue down the length of the yarn.

4. Drape the glue-covered yarn onto the balloon. Arrange the yarn in a straight line, zigzags or random, swirly patterns -- depending on how you want the finished product to look.

5. Dip and place additional pieces of yarn on the balloon to create the basket structure. Keep the yarn on the lower half of the balloon below the line you drew to keep it in an open, basket shape. Cover the majority of the balloon to create a sturdy basket. The more yarn you add and overlap, the stronger the basket is when it is dried. You can leave some small gaps between the yarn, if desired.

6. Place the covered balloon in a bowl or similar structure, to keep the string-covered end up in the air. Let the string dry for at least 24 hours. If the yarn still feels wet, let it dry another 24 hours.

7. Pop the balloon once the yarn is completely dry. Remove the pieces of the popped balloon. This leaves behind a basket-like structure made from the yarn.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also use a child's ball or the outside of a bowl as the mold for the yarn basket. When dry, you'll slide the basket off of the mold carefully.