DIY basket from newspaper tubes

Weaving a handmade stuff from newspaper tubes is a simple technique using which you can create unique items to decorate the interiors of country houses and apartments. From newspaper tubes you can make not only baskets but many other pieces of furniture: lampshades, coasters, chests and various souvenirs. 

First, let's learn how to make the tubes themselves handmade, and then try to make a decorative basket out of them. 

Materials we will need: 

- newspapers; 

- scissors; 

- skewers; 

- felt-tip pen; 

- glue. 

For weaving from newspapers, two types of blanks are used: tubes and paper vines. A tube is obtained by winding a strip of paper onto a skewer, and the vine is a flattened tube. Beginners can start weaving from a paper vine, since weaving from the tubes is a little more complicated, although it looks neater. 

Technique for making tubes from newspaper strips:

1. Cut the newspaper sheet into strips 7-9 cm wide. You can do this with an iron ruler and a clerical knife or scissors. The strips should be single, if necessary, you can cut them. 

2. Now attach the knitting needle or skewer to the end of the strip. Rigidity of the tube depends on the angle of the spoke. For good stiffness, the angle should be smaller. It is best to make tubes with an angle of 45 to 60 °. 

3. Start winding the newspaper strips on the skewer, and so that the tube does not turn around, apply the tip of the glue. 

4. After that, carefully remove the tube from the skewer, note that the thickness of the top and bottom should be different. 

Prepare the tubes in advance, so as not to be distracted during the weaving. To create a beautiful basket you will need a cardboard box, the dimensions of which will depend on the dimensions of the finished wickerwork. 

Handmade basket of newspaper tubes 

1. At the cardboard box, cut off the top covers to get a not very high box. 

2. In this master class we will use one of the simplest weave: we start one tube through the other. 

3. Let's start making the frame. To do this, draw a marking for the main tubes at the bottom of the box. With a small distance of racks, the density of the weave will increase. 

4. Glue the tubes according to the markings, while the corners should also have ducts. 

5. After that, turn the box over, lift the tubes and fix them. 

6. To create the first row of the last tube-rack, braid on the next rack. 

7. Glue an additional tube to weave the walls. When it comes to an end, it can be increased (insert a new one into the end of the old tube and fix it with glue). 

8. Twist the racks according to the scheme: one from the outside, from the inside, the third from the outside, the fourth from the inside, etc. 

9. So you need to braid the box completely. To make the product turned out to be original, weave one row of satin ribbon. But do not weave it at once, because you need to paint the finished product. Just mark the width of the ribbon. 

10. When the weaving has come to the edge of the box, fix the working tube and tweeze its tip with tweezers. 

11. It turned out a box with upright pillars. Finish the weaving can be turned up each rack for a third. 

12. Paint your basket and decorate it with cloth and ribbons as you wish.