Storage baskets live or die on yarn weight: t shirt yarn, bulky, held together super bulky, or a spike stitch worked in something sturdier all show up in the seven patterns here, each landing at a different size and firmness.
Whatever weight you land on, size up the hook well past what you’d use for a garment, and check the pattern’s own recommendation since it varies more here than usual.
Crochet basket patterns to explore
1. T Shirt Yarn Crochet Basket
Thoresby Cottage designed this basket for toy storage, sturdy enough for the job but soft enough for little hands, and worked in chunky t-shirt yarn on a 9 mm hook. It is washable and easy to resize to any basket you want, and the page has tips for crocheting with t-shirt yarn to read before you start. She made it for her very busy little boy.
2. Two Toned Crochet Nesting Baskets
Michelle Moore rates the nesting baskets Easy, in three sizes (S, M, L) worked from the bottom up in the round, in bulky (5) Mary Maxim Home yarn on a 6.5 mm hook. There is a video tutorial, and the set nests, so it doubles as gift baskets or decorative storage.
3. Waistcoat Crochet Basket
Stephanie Lau made the waistcoat basket as a one-of-a-kind gift for her daughter’s kindergarten teachers, in three colors of Lion Brand yarn held two strands together. An inexpensive ad-free PDF with step-by-step pictures is on Etsy and Craftsy, and Lion Brand sells a kit with the pattern and all the yarn.
4. Easy Modern Crochet Storage Basket
Sigoni Macaroni made this with Paintbox Cotton DK on a bigger hook, using only single crochet with a modern twist: you learn the single crochet spike stitch, and the color change makes it look more dramatic. She explains how to resize it, for example by increasing past row 12 for a larger base, and how to make it with thicker yarn.
5. Hanging Crochet Rope Basket
This rope basket crochets worsted cotton yarn around cotton rope, so it is sturdy, and a little handle lets you hang it for quick-grab items. Whistle and Ivy made it while getting the baby’s nursery ready, in a neutral boho style.
6. Chunky Single Crochet Basket
Brianna Iaropoli made this to store yarn, in jumbo yarn (number 7) on a 15 mm hook in single crochet, worked in continuous unturned rounds. For a smaller basket you do fewer rounds on the base, then make the sides with the same number of stitches as the last base round. There is a video.
7. Alda Nesting Baskets
Alda is three nesting baskets, quick and full of texture, and a great way to eat up scraps. They look good in one color or mixed, and the sizes are 2 to 4 inches across in worsted weight yarn on a 5 mm hook.
What keeps a basket standing
A basket needs to hold its shape, and the trick is stiffness. Whistle and Ivy crochets around cotton clothesline rope, Thoresby Cottage uses t-shirt yarn on a 9 mm hook, and Life + Yarn uses number 7 jumbo yarn on a 15 mm hook. All About Ami holds two strands of yarn together for a sturdier fabric.