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These little DIY personalized baskets are super cute and oh-so versatile. They are quick, easy, and fun to make! Add a yarn script name to personalize any basket using chunky yarn (or rope) and hot glue! They can be used for storing small toys, books or diapers. They would be a beautiful decoration for a baby shower and are great custom gifts for the mom-to-be. It’s the perfect gift for someone who loves to knit or crochet to keep their working yarn and needles/hooks handy and easily maneuverable. This easy craft project is also perfect for Christmas gift baskets and Easter baskets. Let’s get crafting—name rope baskets are so versatile!
Make a DIY personalized basket as a baby shower gift or for someone who knits or crochets. This versatile item can easily be repurposed and enjoyed for years.
If you’re into crafts, also try felt gingerbread men ornaments, a birdseed ornament, or perhaps orange bath bombs, which are great for gifting.
Why You’ll Love It
Easy to make: You’re starting off with readymade flatpack baskets so you just need to do the fun part and add the name and embellishments.
A versatile gift basket: You can make these personalized baskets for all kinds of occasions, whether you want to make a diaper bag for a new mom-to-be, a birthday gift basket for your best friend or a Christmas or Easter basket.
Offers easy storage: These baskets are multipurpose and you can store anything in them.
Easy to personalize: You get to choose the materials, colors and any other decorations or embellishments you add to these.
Collapsible design: The baskets are collapsible which means they can be packed flat for transportation.
Personalized Name Basket Materials
A complete list of materials and amounts can be found in the instructions card below.
Baskets: I used these collapsible baskets.
Yarn: Super bulky size 6 is perfect for this project, perhaps this one or this one.
Hot glue and extra glue sticks: To stick the yarn letters in place.
Sewing pins: Crafters will already have these on hand.
Fabric scissors: Nice sharp ones work best!
How to Make a Personalized Rope Basket
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Prepare the basket: Open the basket. If you’re using a flatpack basket, open it up and shape it.
Make the yarn letters: Create the name you want to make with the yarn, using pins to secure it in place.
Glue the letters to the basket: Glue the letters in place with hot glue.
The finishing touches: Snip off the end of the yarn when you’re done and fill the gift basket with whatever you want to put in there.
Substitutions and Variations
Different colors: You can use different sizes or colors of baskets and also use different yarn colors, such as pink for a mom-to-be if she’s having a girl, for example.
No fabric scissors? Just use a pair of sharp scissors.
DIY Personalized Basket Gift Ideas
For an expectant mom: This cute basket would look amazing in a nursery. Fill it with baby’s toys, clothes, diapers, and so on. Make sure you’ve finished the project before the anticipated delivery date of the new addition!
For a knitter or crafter: A family member or friend who enjoys projects like making hand knit chunky blankets might like a great quality basket gift to hold their wool, knitting needles and so on.
As a Christmas or Easter basket: You can customize the baskets depending on the occasion to make them unique. Easter baskets can be filled with hatching chick cookies and chocolate eggs. Christmas baskets can be filled with items like a mason jar cocktail set or boozy hot chocolate kit.
Pamper baskets: Homemade beauty gifts such as sugar scrubs, whipped shea butter and citrus shower steamers are just some ideas for a DIY pamper basket gift, along with little towels, lotions and soaps.
Top Tips
Open the basket first: If it’s been flat-packed you’ll need to stretch it out a little.
Knot the yarn at the start: A small, tight not keeps the end of the yarn from fraying as you’re working with it.
Find a font you like: Find a suitable font online and copy the letters using your yarn.
Pin the letters as you go: It’s a good idea to pin the letters as you go, so you can check they’re looking good and spaced properly.
Don’t cut the yarn yet: Make sure you’re 100% happy with how the name looks before you snip off the yarn.
Baskets with Rope Names FAQs
It’s best to work letter by letter and take your time, especially if you’re new to this kind of crafting. Choose a simple font. You can draw the letters on with a pencil and simply glue the yarn over it. I like to snip the ends of some letters rather than have the whole name in cursive but that’s optional. You might want to dot the i’s and cross the t’s afterwards too. If you’re unhappy with how a letter looks or you’ve done something wrong, simply redo it.
You can use the hot glue to add embellishments such as fabric flowers, butterflies or anything cute. Choose the name color based on who the gift basket is for. You can also look at different sizes and shapes of baskets for further customization.
That’s one of the best parts of this fun and useful gift. The baskets should last for years and because they’re simply baskets with a monogram or name on them they can be repurposed. For example, a personalized basket for new parents with diapers and wet wipes might serve as a basket to hold the kids’ toys later on and then after that perhaps a cute basket for laundry or to hold crafting supplies.
Personalized Basket with Braided Rope Tutorial
DIY Personalized Basket
Instructions
Prepare the Baskets and Yarn:
- The baskets come in a flattened pack, but they open and shape up nicely with little effort. Begin by opening up the basket fully and shaping it.
- Find the end of your yarn and knot it. This isn’t necessary, but I like to make a small, tight knot to keep the end from fraying as I work, and I think the knot gives the yarn a nice, finished look.
- Lay the yarn out on the basket to shape the name that you want to personalize the basket with.
- Tip: Look up a font that you like for the name you are spelling. Working by example helps to visualize the end result and can give you a good idea for forming the letters as you work. Using the natural lines created by the rope on the basket is an excellent way to make sure you are keeping the name nice and level.
Create the Letters:
- Pin each letter in place as you go. Work letter by letter to secure them in place as you go. This will keep the spaces even.
- Once the letters are secured in place with sewing pins, check to make sure the name is nicely centered, the letters are evenly spaced, and the name appears exactly as you want it.
- Tip: Do not cut the yarn until you are sure you are ready and everything is in place! I like to wait to cut the yarn until I have glued all the letters in place. This ensures I don’t run out if I happen to need any extra yarn as I carefully move the letters during the gluing process. It is always better to have extra!
Glue the Letters Down:
- Plug in your hot glue gun and get ready to glue the letters in place.
- Once the glue is hot, begin gluing letter by letter. Remove only one or two pins at a time and work slowly making small strips of glue as you go. I like to lift a little stretch of yarn, apply a little bit of hot glue, and then replace the yarn over it. Press the yarn gently into the glue to allow it to set up before removing the next pins and working on the next section of yarn
- Tip: The glue and the yarn are pretty forgiving as long as you pick it up quickly, and you can lay it down again as needed. The yarn is also thick, and if you use the glue sparingly, you can avoid burns pretty easily!
- Keep working in small sections, only unpinning a few pins as you go. Working in small batches like this will help you to keep an eye on the formation and spacing of the letters. I like to save crosses (t’s) and dots (i’s) for the very end once everything is placed.
- For letters like ‘n’, ‘r’ and ‘y’ you can twist the yarn around itself to form a single line. Also, feel free to snip the ends after a few letters and start again wherever it feels natural to do so such as with letters ‘a’, ‘c’ and ‘d’ (or any letters where you naturally go to the top and stop and then trace back down when writing in cursive) This helps to reduce bulkiness, but it isn’t necessary! You can simply opt to work with only one long run of yarn.
- Tip: To keep things nice and neat, make sure to glue the second run right by the first run, and press them close as you glue them.
- Once you are finished gluing the letters, if you haven’t done so already, snip the end of the yarn and knot it before gluing the last section in place.
- Enjoy your new personalized basket or fill it with fun things and gift it to a friend.
Notes
Knot the yarn at the start: A small, tight not keeps the end of the yarn from fraying as you’re working with it.
Find a font you like: Find a suitable font online and copy the letters using your yarn.
Pin the letters as you go: It’s a good idea to pin the letters as you go, so you can check they’re looking good and spaced properly.
Don’t cut the yarn yet: Make sure you’re 100% happy with how the name looks before you snip off the yarn.
A DIY personalized basket is easy to make and it’s a versatile craft project. Make one for a mom-to-be or for someone who knits or crochets. A DIY personalized basket would also be a fun crafting night activity for a group. Whatever the use, these sweet little baskets add a pop of color and texture to any room.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
